Thing's Haven't Really Changed
by Krysten Malfoy
Summary: Old friends reunited, new friends are hurt. Can things ever be the same? Rated M for future content
1. I've Missed You

**Decided to write another HP fanfic hehe**

I sighed, my lips molding against his, when I heard a sharp taping at the window. I pulled my lips away, frowning.

"What the-?"

"Is that an owl?" Jake got up off of me, and the couch and walked over to the window, pulling the lace curtains aside.

"It is. . .and it's got. . .an envelope in it's beak?" I gasped, jumping up off the couch, grabbing his arm.

"Ah, uh. . .you need to go. My parents are gonna be home soon." He frowned slightly and then shrugged, walking to the back door.

"I'll see you later, okay?" I nodded, kissing his cheek as I pulled the door open. The owl flew in over our heads.

"Do you want me to—"

"I got it. It's fine." He glanced into the house at the owl, that was now sitting on the couch, clicking its beak impatiently. Jake kissed my hair, before turning and walking out of the house. I closed the door and then looked at the owl.

"Didn't my parents say something to the post about not bringing mail when Muggles are around?" Owl clicked its beak again, and I sighed. "Well, I guess you won't be able to answer, now would you?" I pulled a bag of owl treats out of a drawer in the coffee table, dumping some out onto the table, where the owl starting gnawing on them hungrily. I took the envelope and sighed.

"Is this for Mum, or Da-. . .me?" I read the return address, smiling brightly.

"Hogwarts! Yes!" I ripped the envelope open, smiling before turning to the fireplace and throwing in a handful of floo powder.

"Department of Defence!" I stuck my head in, and smiled when I found myself looking into Daddy's office.

"Daddy!" He stepped in front of the fireplace and grinned.

"What is it, Button? Daddy was just heading out for a meeting." I laughed.

"I just got my letter from Hogwarts!" He laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners when he smiled.

"Marvelous! I'll let your mother know and when she gets home from the Weasley's, we'll all go out to dinner." I nodded.

"Sounds good." He smiled, glancing towards the door.

"I've got to be off. Don't forget to tip the owl!" I nodded quickly, before pulling out of the fire and standing up, looking at the owl. I pulled a Sickle out of my pocket and dropped it into the pouch tied around the owl's leg.

"There ya go." I crossed the room and pushed the window open, letting the owl fly out before closing it quietly. I sighed, shaking my head. _I wish Jake could know about magic. . .dating a Muggle is so hard! No wonder Daddy and Mum don't want him around. Owls showing up at all hours of the day._ I sighed, pulling the papers out of the envelope and reading them silently. _Cauldron, wand, robes, a cat, owl, or rat. . .hmm. . .I've always wanted a cat._ I started up the stairs, when the front door swung open, and Mum walked in, followed by Mrs. Weasley, the twins, and Ron. I sighed, leaning against the banister and sighed.

"Hey Ron!" The twins grinned.

"Oi! It's Ickle Won-Won's girlfriend!" We both rolled our eyes and Ron walked up the stairs, looking at me.

"Krysten! Did you get your—"

"Letter from Hogwarts? Yes!" Ron grinned.

"Wicked! That means we'll be going off to school together! I'm sure you'll be in Gryffindor, like me!" Mum chuckled.

"Now Ron, you don't know if you'll be in Gryffindor, it's the Sorting Hat that decides." The twins laughed. Fred grinned.

"M-maybe you'll be in _Hufflepuff_, w-with, CEDRIC DIGGORY!" Mrs. Weasley let out a loud 'hmph' from the kitchen.

"You two, that Diggory boy is a charming young man. It'd serve you well to befriend him. His father could get you free tickets to any Quidditch game you know! Just the other day, your father was talking about getting tickets for you to see the World Cup in a few years." All three boys turned their eyes on her and shouted.

"What?" I smiled.

"Do I get to go, Mrs. Weasley?" She nodded.

"Of course, deary. Oh! Ginny told me to tell you hello, and she can't wait to see you." I grinned, looking at Mum as I walked into the kitchen, Ron following after me.

"Mum, since I got my letter, can we go get my things tomorrow?" She nodded, pulling the fridge open.

"Of course," She looked at the Weasleys, "Would you guys like to stay for dinner?" I sat down at the table.

"Mum, Daddy said when he gets off work, we're going out to dinner." Mrs. Weasley smiled.

"Oh, well then, that's alright. I'm sure Arthur will be at home expecting a meal anyways. It was nice to see you again. . .but Georgie, if you'd like, Krysten could come with us tomorrow to get her things. Ginny would be so happy to see her." Mum nodded, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Of course. Should I send her to the Burrow through the Floo? Around. . .nine-ish?" The twins groaned in disgust.

"We can't leave at nine! We'll be sleeping!" Mrs. Weasley looked at them, her eyes narrowed.

"You'll leave and you'll like it you two! . . .Yes, nine would be fine." She smiled at me, before grabbing the twins and walking out the door. Ron glanced at me quickly, and gave me an awkward hug before turning and running down the walk to meet up with the other three, disappearing with a pop in side-along Apparation. Mum smiled slightly.

"You know, I think Ron likes you." I looked at her and rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, that'd be great and all, if he wasn't my third cousin." Mum sighed, shaking her head.

"Well it's going to be tough finding a pureblood man who isn't related somehow to you!" I rolled my eyes again, glaring out the window.

"Well. . .maybe I don't want to marry a pureblood, Mum! What if. . .what if I end up wanting to marry a Muggle! Or a half-blood?" She sighed, walking forward and running her fingers through my hair.

"Sweetheart. You'll understand someday. . .everything that's going on with the Dark Lord. . .having pureblood, is the most important thing right now, alright? I don't want something bad happening. . .because you couldn't find someone who had pureblood that you liked!" I sighed, shaking my head.

"I don't know why you still think we should worry about the Dark Lord, Mum, you said that part of our life was over! You don't even let the Weasle's know what we a-. . .what we were." Mum stood silent for a moment, biting her lip.

"They're the only real friends we've had since then. . ." I took her hands.

"Real friends wouldn't care about our past. . .and real friends wouldn't care about our future." She frowned.

"You're talking about the Malfoys, aren't you?" I sighed, looking away, at a picture on the wall.

"I haven't seen Draco since we were six years old. Mum, I don't even know what my old best friend looks like! Who he's friends with, if he's going to. . .going to Hogwarts, Mum that's it! I'll get to see Malfoy this year!" She frowned, reaching out and grabbing my shoulder.

"What about Ron? You're just going to leave him, to see Draco?" I glared up at her.

"I'm not going to be 'seeing' Draco! And I'm not just going to leave Ron! If Ron wants to be my friend and. . .and if Draco missed me. . .they'll just have to put up with each other!" Mum's frown deepened.

"And what about that Jacob boy?" I shrugged.

"What about him? You don't want me to be with him, so what's the big deal?" She crossed the room, grabbing a washcloth and scrubbed at the counter absent-mindedly.

"Well. . .your father and I were under the impression that you really liked him. You wouldn't eat for a week after we told you you couldn't see him. It took Ron, the twins, and Ginny to get you to come down from your room." I sighed, debating between telling her I had been seeing him still, or just letting this go.

"Mum. . .I just don't know. I'll be in my room until Daddy gets home." I gave her a quick hug, before turning and walking up the stairs.

~X~X~X~

I looked up when I heard a light knock on my door, and smiled when Daddy stuck his head into my room.

"There's my little witch. I got something for you." He walked into the room, holding a box, which I noted had small holes poked in the top. I sat up as he sat down on the bed, and place the box in front of me. I heard a quiet scuffling from inside, and Daddy smiled.

"Open it." I nodded, lifting the lid, beaming when I found a small black kitten inside, barely six weeks old.

"Daddy, thank you!" I threw my arms around his neck and smiled. He grinned, kissing my hair.

"You're welcome. I thought he could keep you company at Hogwarts when you don't have your mum and I around." I nodded, picking the kitten up and stroking his fur.

"Of course. He's adorable." I sighed, staring down at the kitten, who looked up at me and squeaked. Daddy chuckled and then glanced towards the door.

"Now, If I'm not mistaken, I believe we had a dinner engagement?" I nodded, setting the kitten down on the bed.

"Yeah. . .do you think he'll be okay? Alone?" He pulled me up off the bed and pulled out his wand.

"I'll set a boundary charm, he'll stay on the bed until we get back." Daddy waved his wand once, and the air around the bed shimmered before settling.

"Let's go to dinner." I nodded and followed him out into the hall.

"So uh. . .your mother told me about everything, with Ron. . .and Jake. . .and the Malfoys." I sighed, walking down the stairs.

"Just. . .don't worry about it, Daddy. I'll. . .handle things." I stood at the door, pulling my jacket on, just as Mum came in from the kitchen, her coat already on. Daddy sighed, reaching out and taking my hand, along with Mum's.

"To dinner!" Before I could take another breath, he turned on the spot, and gravity pressed in on me, knocking the air out of me, and then suddenly, we were in Diagon Alley. Daddy smiled and walked into the Furling Dragon, holding the door open for us both.

"My ladies." Mum chuckled quietly, before we all three walked inside.

~X~X~X~

I woke up the next morning, to here shouting downstairs. I carefully laid my kitty, I hadn't named him yet, down on the bed, and got up, sticking my head out my door into the hall.

"We told you to stay away from our daughter!" I froze, my eyes wide. I heard Mum shriek.

"Matt! Put away the wand!" _Jake, no!_ Daddy growled.

"You know how dangerous it is for a Muggle to be with a witch!" Mom was silent, and Jake spoke.

"A witch?" I gasped and ran down the stairs, running a few of the spells I had picked up in my mind, grabbing Daddy's wand.

"Stupefy! Obliviate!" Daddy fell back against the stairs, while Jake crumpled to the floor. Mum stared at me, and I tossed her the wand.

"We need to get Jake out of here. . .Daddy's gonna be mad enough when he wakes up, I don't need Jake here when he does." She frowned.

"Why didn't you tell me you were still involved with him, this wouldn't have had to happen!" I sighed, grabbing Jake's arms and dragging him to the door, pushing it open, and pulling him out to the porch.

"When he wakes up, he'll think me came to see, tripped and hit his head on the porch." I sighed.

"Just be. . .hospitable when he wakes up. Tell him I'm not home." I looked at Daddy and sighed. _Sorry._ Crossing the room, I glanced back at Mum.

"So uh. . .give me some money and I'll head off to the Weasley's." Mum frowned for a moment, and then sighed, tossing me her purse.

"Don't go overboard. Just by the things that you need, get some food for your cat, and then come home." I nodded, threw some floo powder into the fire place and called into the flames.

"The Burrow!" I waved at Mum once, before turning and stepping through the fire, tucking my elbows in as I started to spin widely, soot itching at my nose and making me sneeze.

When I stepped out of the fire, into the Weasley's kitchen, I was almost instantly hugged by Ginny, who smiled brightly.

"Hi, Krysten! So, any plans of marrying my brother yet?" Ron stepped into the kitchen, his ears bright red.

"Shut up you. . .Hey Krys." The twins walked in, both grinning madly.

"If the brother you're talking about is one of us, of course!" Ron glared at them.

"Quiet!" They both laughed.

"Oh look! Ickle Won-Won's upset!" Mrs. Weasley walked into the room, shaking her head.]

"You two. Quit picking on your brother." The twins rolled their eyes and walked away. Ron walked up to me and smiled slightly.

"So. . .you ready to go get our supplies?" I nodded, smiling brightly.

"Definitely." Mrs. Weasley sighed, giving each of us a handful of floo powder.

"Well, let's head out." We nodded, and one by one, left for Diagon Alley.

**~X~X~X~**

Instead of going back to the Weasley's from the Leaky Cauldron, I went home, after giving everyone a quick hug. I stepped out of the fireplace, lugging my things behind me, to find Mum and Daddy standing in the living room, their arms crossed of their chests, their eyes narrowed.

"That stunt you pulled today was unacceptable!" Daddy smiled slightly.

"Although. . .those were two very impressive spells for a girl not even in her first year yet." I grinned.

"Learned it all from you, Da—"

"Back to the discussion! You were out of line today! First, you deliberately disobeyed us, seeing a Muggle, and secondly, turning a wand on your own father!" I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well what would you do if Grampa turned his wand on Daddy? You wouldn't just stand there and do nothing!" Daddy frowned slightly.

"I. . .overreacted. And honestly, I think you handled the situation extremely well. Obliviating his memory was the smartest, and safest thing to do. I'm not as angry as I was this morning. . .let's see what you bought for school." I smiled, reaching into one my pocket and pulling out my wand.

"It's a—"

"No, no, lemme see. I studied a bit on wands, I'm sure I can tell what it is." He took the wand and turned it over in his hands a few times before smiling.

"Cherrywood, unicorn hair. 10 and a half inches, light, nice and springy." I laughed, taking the wand back.

"That's exactly what Mr. Ollivander said!" Daddy smiled a smug grin, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I miss Ollivander. . .maybe I'll go pay the old beanpole a visit next time I'm on the Alley. . ." He chuckled and started to reach for my bag, when I suddenly remembered something.

"Oh! Daddy! When I went in to see Mr. Ollivander, he said just before I was in there, he had a very famous customer, you'll never guess who it was!" He frowned slightly.

"Who?" I laughed.

"Harry Potter!" Mum and Daddy were silent for a moment, and then he sighed.

"That's. . .interesting at the least. I guess you'll be meeting some interesting people this year. . .just. . .stick with Ron, alright? He'll. . .keep you with the right crowd." I nodded slightly, holding out my bag with my books in it.

"And these are my books. The robes are nothing special, they're just black." Mum smiled slightly, sitting down on the love seat.

"You're going to have so much fun at Hogwarts sweety. I know I always did." I nodded.

"Yeah. I know."

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, standing on the porch, waiting for someone to answer the door. The door opened and Jake was standing there, smiling slightly.

"Oh. . .hey. What's up?" I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I'm. . .I'm going to boarding school. I won't be able to see you much anymore." He frowned.

"Why? Did your parents find out u—"

"Yeah. They found out about us, and they're sending me away. I'll try and write as much as I can. But I don't think it'll be likely." He sighed, stepping forward and pulling me into his arms.

"I'll miss you. . .i'll wait for you! Promise." Jake kissed my hair and I sighed.

"Yeah. . .i'll see ya around Jake." I smiled once before turning and walking back home.

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, hand in hand with Ron as Mum took way more pictures than necessary. After five minutes of standing on the platform, I sighed and started pushing my trolley away, stroking Knight's fur through the bars of his cage. Ron and the twins caught up with me, helping me lift my things onto the train. I sighed.

"Where's Percy?" George snorted, setting Knight's cage on top of my trunk.

"In the front of the train with the prefects. Was right 'n' proud of himself when he got the letter and badge in the mail. Insufferable prick." I smiled, getting on the train and started rolling my trunk down the aisle until I reached an open compartment, holding the door for Ron and the twins, though they declined.

"We're gonna go sit with the team. Haven't seen them all summer. Gotta talk strategy." Fred winked at me before turning and walking away, George following along beside him. He glanced over his shoulder and laughed.

"Don't go steaming up those windows now! Won't want to have to come and pull you two off of each other!" Ron rolled his eyes, his ears red and walked into the compartment, lifting our things into the racks above out heads. I sighed and sat down, curling up on the seat and pulling my Defense Against the Dark Arts book into my lap. I let Knight out of his cage and he curled up next to me, purring loudly. Ron glanced at him and sighed.

"If that beast tries anything funny with Scabbers, I'll kill it." I laughed stroking Knight's fur.

"Ron, he's just a kitten. It's okay." He shrugged, and started to reach into his bag, when the door slid open, a boy with longish dark hair standing there, holding one end of a trunk and a cage with a snowy owl inside.

"Um. . .is there room in this compartment?" Ron nodded, moving his bag off the seat and onto the floor.

"Sure." The boy put his trunk in the overhead rack, and then sat down, brushing his hair out of his face. Ron gasped.

"B-bloody hell! You're Harry Potter. . .aren't you?" The boy, Harry nodded.

"Erm. . .yeah." Ron sat up straighter.

"And you really have the. . .ya know. . ." He gestured towards his forehead, and Harry laughed, pulling his hair all the way back to reveal his lightening shaped scar.

"Heh, yeah. I do." Ron grinned, nodding his head slightly.

"Wicked. . .I'm Ron, by the way. Weasley. This my gi-. . .my friend Krysten. MacNair." Harry looked at me, smiling slightly.

"Good to meet you." I nodded, setting my book aside.

"You too Harry. I've. . .heard a lot about you." Ron sat there in silence for a second, and then grinned.

"You wanna see something cool?" He pulled out his wand, and then Scabbers. He looked at Harry and grinned.

"It's a spell my brothers taught me." Ron cleared his throat and sighed, pointing his wand at the rat.

"Sunshine daises, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow!" There was a flash of light, put when the smoke cleared, all that was different was that Scabbers was shaking out of fear. Harry covered his mouth, trying not to laugh, and we all looked up when we heard a quiet chuckle from the door. A girl with curly, poofy hair was standing there, twirling her wand in her fingers.

"I don't think it worked. I'll show you some real magic." She walked into the compartment and sat down across from Harry, pointing her wand at the broken bridge of his glasses, making him go cross-eyed.

"Occulus Reparo." The tape on the bridge whipped around a few times, and then disappeared into her wand. Harry pulled his glasses off and smiled when he saw the nearly repaired frame. Ron snorted, looking away.

"Cool, I guess." I smiled slightly at Hermione, who smiled back, and then glanced out the window.

"I think we're almost there. We'd better get changed into our robes. C'mon. . .uh. . .I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?" I smiled, reaching up into my trunk and pulling out a uniform.

"Krysten. Let's go." We started to leave, when a pale, platinum blonde boy appeared at the door, two much large boys standing at his sides.

"So it's true then. Harry Potter really is on this train." I recognized that smooth drawling voice before he even finished speaking.

"Draco?" He took a step back, shocked.

"Who do you think you are? A filthy Mudblood no doubt." I put my hands on my hips, raising an eyebrow at him.

"A filthy mudblood, huh? Little. Dragon?" He froze.

"H-how'd you know. . .My mum. . .No!" I smiled cheekily.

"'Member me now, Draco?" He nodded slightly, a smile slowly spreading across his face.

"Krysten. I can't believe. . .I haven't seen you in years!" Ron glanced from me to Draco, his ears turning red.

"How do you know a Malfoy?" Draco turned a disdainful look on Ron.

"Why are you with a Weasley? I thought you were above that. His family is nothing but a bunch of bloodtraitors." I frowned, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the compartment.

"What happened to you?" He stared down at me, silent, and I turned my eyes to the hulking boys behind him.

"Privacy, please?" I closed the compartment door, and the two lumps walked away, leaving me with Draco, who was smiling slightly.

"I really have missed you." I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I've missed you too. . .but I'm not sure I like what I'm seeing!" He frowned.

"What do you mean?" I rolled my eyes.

"Mudblood? Bloodtraitor? Whatever happened to the boy I knew that wished everyone could be friends?" His eyes narrowed, his silver eyes shimmering in the light from the window.

"He went away when he lost his best friend." My heart broke at his words, and I shook my head.

"You never lost me. . .we just. . .couldn't live the way we did anymore. It was putting way to much stress on my mum, my dad was getting grief at work. . .just. . please, Draco, if you ever cared, please don't say anything about anything to anyone at school, alright? The Weasley's don't even know what we were. . .What's on my dad's left arm. Do it for me." He glanced at the compartment we were just in and frowned.

"But a Weasley? Really? You couldn't do any better than that?" I laughed, shaking my head.

"Well, actually, I was with a Muggle." Draco stared at me in shock and then laughed.

"Don't know what I'm going to do with you, MacNair. . .so. . .what about Potter?" I shrugged, glancing over my shoulder.

"I don't know. . .we'll see how things go." I sighed, pulling him into a hug, which he hesitantly returned.

"I've really missed you, Draco." He sighed, hugging me tighter.

"I've missed you too."


	2. First Year

**Don't own any rights to Harry Potter, never have.**

Malfoy sighed, pulling away as he glanced down the car.

"I've got to go. Crabbe and Goyle will be getting antsy right about now." I smirked.

"Those two fat lumps that were on your flanks like a pack of dogs?" He shook his head and grinned.

"Well. . .they're not really my first choice for friends. But since my father. . .and their fathers are all. . .you know. . .we're expected to stick together." I nodded in understanding, sighing as I turned back to my compartment.

"Well. . .I'll see you around Draco." He frowned, raising an eyebrow at me.

"What? Aren't you gonna come sit with me? Or do you fancy Potter or something." I shook my head and smiled.

"No. But. . .Ron is a friend too. I can't just ditch him for you. If you're open to being around him, then maybe we co—"

"No. Sorry. Just because we're friends. . .it doesn't change what I believe in." I frowned.

"What _do_ you believe in Draco? What your daddy tells you to?" He rolled his eyes and turned away, though he mutter under his breath as he retreated.

"Pretty much." I stood there in silence, before pulling open the compartment door, to find Ron crouched by it, Harry and Hermione watching from their seats. I rolled my eyes, pushing Ron back and out of the way. He huffed, getting back up into his seat.

"What was that all about? How'd you know Malfoy?" I sighed, settling down next to Hermione who was holding Knight in her lap.

"He's just an old friend. I probably won't be seeing much of him anyways." I sighed, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"Because I'm going to be in Gryffindor, right? No way a Malfoy would be in Gryffindor." Ron smiled slightly, nodding.

"Yeah. . .I guess you're right."

**~X~X~X~**

As we walked into Great Hall, all the older students turned to look at us, several girl cooing about how cute and small the first years are. Ron and I rolled our eyes, and I moved to stand between Ron and Harry, they'd keep me from getting shoved around too much. We stopped at the front of the hall, just before the teacher's table, and an older woman stepped forward, holding a scroll. She stood before us, and watched as an old, wrinkly man carried a stool with an old battered hat on it. The woman sighed. As she spoke, Ron whispered in my ear.

"That's Professor McGonagall. Watch out for her. She may look like a sweet old lady, but Fred and George said she won't hesitate to beat you. . .of course.. .they could have just been trying to scare me. . ." Harry and I laughed quietly, falling silent as the Sorting started.

"Hermione Granger!" Hermione smiled slightly, before stepped up and sitting on the stool, Professor McGonagall placing the hat on her head. It was silent for a moment, and then it speak.

"Yes, I know just what to do with you. Gryffindor!" Three of the tables burst into loud cheers and clapping, the only one not included was the Slytherin table. As I ran my eyes down the seats, I recognized many of the students, sighing. Hermione stepped down, walking over to the Gryffindor table, and took an empty seat next to the twins. Ron was called up next, and he turned to me before walking away.

"I'll see you at the table." He reached out and squeezed my hand, Malfoy seeing and rolling his eyes a few people away, before turning and walking up to the stool, the hat on his head for a second before shouting out.

"Gryffindor!" More cheers. More silence from the Slytherin table. Professor McGonagall smiled slightly, and then sighed, reading off the next name.

"Draco Malfoy!" The Slytherins crained their necks eagerly, obviously anxious to see if another Malfoy would find himself in the dungeon rooms of Slytherin. Knowing him, he probably would. Draco moved up to the stool, walking with a smooth, set swagger, sitting there for a second or two, before the hat placed him in Slytherin. His eyes looked disconcerted as he walked away, but I ignored it, resolving to ask later. Professor McGonagall looked back at her list, and started to call out another name, but then stopped, a smile spreading across her lips.

"Harry Potter!" The entire room fell absolutely silent, and Harry glanced at me before walked up to the hat, sitting down and letting Professor set the thing on his head. The hat spoke quietly to Harry, while Harry seemed to be speaking back to it, and then it chuckled.

"Very well then, Gryffindor!" This time, Gryffindor was the only table to cheer, the other clearly disappointed by not having Harry Potter in their house. . .and then the Slythering were just being seclusive as usual. Professor McGonagall called my name and I stepped forward, the hat slipping over my head, and calling out almost immediately.

"Slytherin!" I looked towards the Gryffindor table, every Weasley face, devasted, even Harry looked a bit shocked. I waved slightly at Ron before crossing the room and sitting next to Draco, who edged away from me slightly. I frowned.

"Are you okay? Did the hat say anything funny to you?" He frowned, glancing from me to the hat, before looking down at his plate.

"That blasted thing almost didn't put me in Slytherin. . .said love was a trait of something greater, wanted me in Gryffindor. Crazy old lump of fabric if you ask me." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Love?" His back stiffened, and he glanced at me.

"Uh. . .yeah, Love. For my mum. . .my family." I nodded slightly.

"Yeah. . .crazy old lump of fabric."

**~X~X~X~**

After we left the feast, walking into the common room, I was completely satisfied with going straight to bed, but Draco wouldn't hear of any of that. He pulled me down onto a couch, smiling for the first time since I was put in Slytherin.

"So, tell me all about what happened after we split up. How you ended up friends with those Weasleys, everything." I smirked, leaning back.

"Well. . .after the Potters were killed, everyone was facing inquiries at work, just for precautions. Some Auror's found some. . .things in my dad's office, so he was in rather hot water for a while. But Mr. Weasley vouched for him, for whatever reason, and since the Weasleys are such a big family and everything, the Ministry couldn't do much except let things go. A bit ridiculous, but we're all grateful nonetheless." Draco sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"And. . .why didn't you ever write? Your family has an owl, don't you?" I nodded slightly, pulling my knees to my chest.

"After the inquiry, my mum thought it was best if we cut off all connections from. . . ." I lowered my voice, "Other Death Eaters. I didn't want to do it. . .but she wouldn't even leave me alone with a piece of parchment for fear I would contact you. . .it was really all I wanted to do." I blushed slightly, as did he.

"Well, um. . .so. . .you said you've been seeing a Muggle. What's that like? Is it disgusting? Make you feel like you need to bathe?" I laughed, shaking my head.

"It's just like being with a wizard, the only difference is, is that when I get an owl at my window, I have to figure out a way to explain it. . .Lie." Draco nodded slightly.

"You know. . .you wouldn't have to lie with m-. . . .with a wizard." I caught what he was about to say and smiled, nodding.

"Yeah. . .I know. But still, he was nothing but nice to me, and there really weren't any magical families around where I live." Draco nodded glancing towards the clock on the wall.

"Yeah. . .well, we'd better get some sleep. . .it's getting late, I'll see you in the morning?" I nodded, pulling the blanket off the back of the couch and draping it over me.

"Yeah. I'm going to stay down here, get some reading done." Knight jumped into my lap and I smirked.

"That is if this great oaf will let me." Draco laughed, nodding as he walked to the stairs.

"Alright. See you tomorrow, MacNair." I nodded and curled up on my side, pulling a book into my lap to read, but ended up dozing off around the fourth page.

**~X~X~X~**

I was woken up my a hand shaking my shoulder, a frantic voice in my ear.

"Krys! Krysten, MacNair! Wake up!" I groaned, dragging my eyes open to look up into Draco's shimmering sliver ones. I sighed.

"What?" He sighed, pulling me up into a sitting position, running his fingers through my hair, trying to make me look presentable.

"We have to get to class! You slept in late!" I jumped up and grabbed my bag off the table, running for the door.

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner!" He smiled sheepishly, running down the hall with me to the potions dungeon.

"You're pretty when you sleep." That stopped me short, but he grabbed my arm and started pulling me along, lining up with every just outside the door. I saw Ron, Harry, and Hermione and smiled.

"You guys!" Draco sighed, turning away.

"_Please_ don't call them over here." I frowned, and looked at Ron who was glaring at Draco's back, as if his eyes could throw knives. I sighed, shaking my head.

"I really wish you two could get along." Draco sighed, looking up when the door open.

"You know. . .sometimes. . .I kinda wish we did too." I followed him into the dungeon, pulling him onto the farther side of the room, away from Crabbe and Goyle and sat down, Ron plopping down on my other side, a piece of bagel still hanging from his mouth. I raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed.

"I was late for breakfast." I laughed.

"I didn't even go to breakfast, I just woke up!" He smirked, and handed me the piece of bagel.

"Here, something to hold you off until break." I nodded, taking the scrap, and started to eat it, when a pair of hands came down our shoulders, a dull, slow voice speaking down at us.

"Eating in class? Ten points from Gryffindor. Five for each." I started.

"Uh, Professor. . .I'm in Slytherin." He looked down at me, and then at Draco, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Very well. Five points from Gryffindor." Draco leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"That's Snape, you remember him, right?" I nodded, and gaped at Ron when he shouted out.

"That's not fair! You didn't take any points away from Slytherin!" I kicked Ron under the table as Snape spoke.

"There's ten from Gryffindor, would you like to make it twenty, Mr. Weasley?" Ron fell silent, Hermione glaring at him. Draco nudged me and grinned.

"And that is why, we do not talk in class." I giggled quietly, covering my mouth, regaining my composure as the lesson began.

I frowned as Snape started to drill Harry, ignoring Hermione even though she had her hand up for all of his questions. I turned towards Draco, whispering in his ear.

"Doesn't like Harry much, does he?" Draco shook his head.

"No. . .it's because he was never a fan of Harry's dad either." I nodded, smirking when Harry snapped back at Snape, losing another ten points from Gryffindor. I sighed, shaking my head.

"I don't know how today could get any worse."

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, walking between Draco and Ron, though they both looked like they'd rather be anywhere but together. I looked up at Draco and sighed.

"So, where to next?" He sighed, pointing out of the courtyard to a flat green.

"Flying." I grinned, walking a bit faster

"Wicked." I noticed Ron grinned smugly when I adopted his phrase, and kept pace with me, while Draco stay a fe paces behind, clearly glad to be even the slightest bit further away from Ron.

As the lesson started, everyone had their share of laughs, triumphs, frustration, and pain. Harry, Draco, and I had no problems with the brooms, but when Ron tried to call the thing into his hand, it flew up, hitting him right in the nose. Hermione wasn't having as much luck as the rest of us, but she almost got it. Once everyone had their brooms, Madame Hooch blew her whistle.

"Now everyone, listen carefully. Now that' you've all got your brooms, I'd like you to mount them, and on my whistle, kick off from the ground, hard, hover for a second or two, and then lower the nose, landing softly in the grass, understood?" We all nodded slightly, and mounted our brooms, but before Madame Hooch could blow the whistle, a boy I knew to be Neville Longbottom was already in the air above our heads. Madame Hooch glared up at him.

"Neville! Get back down here this instant! I didn't blow th-, Mr. Longbottom!" Neville had rose higher in the air, and his broom was bucking and spinning underneath him. He soared off to the left, crashing into one of the towers, finally falling off the broom, getting caught on a sharp torch holder, haning about ten feet in the air, before his robe tore and he fell into a heap on the ground. We all ran forward, Madame Hooch in the lead and knelt down next to him. Madame Hooch sighed.

"Oh, no. . .broken wrist. . ." She stood up, helping Neville, casting her hawk-like eyes on the rest of the class.

"Now, while I take Mr. Longbottom to the infirmary, I want your feet to stay firmly planted on the ground. Anyone caught flying will be out of Hogwarts faster than you can say Quidditch." She huffed and started off towards the infirmary, leaving us all out on the grass. Draco looked around the spot where Neville had fallen and then grinned, reaching down and picked up a small glass ball, which I recognized as a Remembrall. He smirked, turning to the other Slytherins.

"You know, maybe if that fat lump had given this a squeeze, he would have remembered to fall on his fat arse!" I glared at him, and started to tell him off, when Harry stepped forward.

"Give it here, Malfoy." Draco raised an eyebrow at Harry and smirked.

"You think you're so tough. . .let's see what you've got Potter." He mounted his broom and kicked off, slowly rising into the air. I glared up at him.

"Draco, if you don't come down right no—"

"_Harry_, you can't be serious! You'll get in so much trouble!" A flash of black whipped past me, and seconds later, Draco and Harry were facing each other, more than thirty feet in the air. Hermione walked up behind me and huffed.

"What an idiot." I watched, scared for Draco as I was for Harry.

"Give it Malfoy! Or I'll knock you off your broom!" I clapped my hands over my mouth, my eyes wide. _Harry wouldn't do that. . ._ Draco smirked.

"Oh yeah? How about this then?" He pulled his arm back, and with a flick of his wrist, sent the Remembrall flying towards the brick wall of Hogwarts. As Harry darted after it, Draco returned to the ground, smiling at me.

"Did yo—"

"What is wrong with you?" I dropped my broom and stormed off, Ron following behind me, leaving a dumbstruck Malfoy standing in the grass. Ron caught up with me about halfway back to the common room, grabbing my arm.

"Krys, I told you he was no good." I spun around, tears in my eyes. I stood there in silence before sobbing once, throwing myself into his arms.

"H-He used to be so different! I don't know what's happened!" Ron wrapped his arms around me and sighed.

"I'm sorry." Shaking, I pulled away.

"I'm going to. . .start for my next class. I'll see you later alright?" I wiped some tears off of my cheeks and started down the hall, freezing when I heard him calling for me.

"MacNair! Hey! Oh, there you ar—"

"Shove off Malfoy!" I spun around to see the Ron had drawn his wand on Malfoy, glaring at him.

"She doesn't want to see you." Draco looked at me, his eyes sad.

"Is that true?" I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Yeah, actually, it is." Ron flashed Draco a smug grin, and he sighed.

"Mac-. . .Krysten. I can't stop being who I am. You should understand that better than anyone." I looked up at him, and smiled slightly when he mouthed the words 'Little Dragon'. I shook my head, walking past Ron.

"I can never stay mad at you for long, but. . .Draco. . .I'm not sure if this will work. . .we're so different now. . .you've changed. . .and I'm not sure that I like what's happened." He nodded slightly.

"I'm gonna. . .I'll try to be good. . .but you know how hard that can be." I smiled, giving him a quick hug.

"Yes. I know." Ron snorted, and I sighed. "I'll see you back at the common room, Draco." He nodded once, winking before turning and walking down the hall. Ron sighed.

"I can't believe you just let him get off like that. He's a right prick, that one is." I laughed, linking arms with him as we walked down the hall.

"Don't worry about it."

**~X~X~X~**

I paced outside the infirmary, sobbing, loudly. Each time I passed him Draco reached out to me, but then pulled his hands away. I wouldn't have stopped, if someone hadn't cleared their voice. I looked up at Dumbledore, my eyes red. He smiled gently.

"Who are you here to see, my dear? Harry?" I nodded slightly, my words rasping out.

"And Ron. Is he alright, Professor? I heard they were both in the infirmary but no one knew what had happened." Dumbledore glanced at McGonagall who had joined us, and turned to her.

"Please explain to Ms. MacNair what has happened. And Mr. Malfoy as well, if he wishes to know." He smiled at the two of us, before turning and walking into the infirmary, closing the doors behind himself. Professor McGonagall turned to me and sighed.

"Come now, to my office. You too, Malfoy, I'm sure she'll be filling you in as soon as she returns to your side anyhow." Draco nodded, taking my hand, and walking along beside me to her office.

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, sitting next to Draco on the train, in our own compartment, my head resting on his shoulder.

"I'm really going to miss you this summer. You have to promise you'll visit, alright?" He nodded, wrapping his arms around me.

"Promise." I looked up as the train started to slow.

"Ugh. . .I don't want to go home." Draco nodded, starting to pull our things out of the rack.

"Yeah. . .neither do I." I sighed, listening as the doors to the apartments started opening. I kissed his cheek before sliding our door open.

"Send me an owl as soon as you get home. Okay?" Draco was a bit dazed after me kissing him, but then he shook himself out of it and nodded.

"Yeah. Of course." I smiled, turning as I walked down the car.

"Until then, Little Dragon." I heard him laugh just as I stepped off the train, leaving a smile on my face.


	3. Second Year

**Second Year**

I walked into the Great Hall, smiling brightly, glad to be back. Knight weaved himself around my ankles, purring loudly. I smiled as we walked off to the Slytherin table, waving at Ron, Harry, and Hermione before sitting down next to Blaise, who was glancing up and down the table. I smirked.

"Who're you looking for?" He laughed.

"Malfoy, who else? I heard, he went and got himself a girlfriend!" My eyes narrowed, and he stopped short.

"Oops, sorry. . .I know you have that fire burning for Malfoy still." I rolled my eyes, punching his arm.

"Shut up, I do not." He laughed, grinning when the food appeared in front of us and started digging in. I frowned as I started to eat.

"That's weird. . .Malfoy usually never misses dinner. . .I wonder where he is." Marcus, the Quidditch captain laughed.

"Probably snogging with Parkinson in a closet somewhere." Blaise raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, so it's Pansy? Never would have seen that coming. Right little annoying blighter she is. Nothing like Krys here." He squeezed squeezed my shoulder and laughed. A few minutes later, Malfoy walked into the Great Hall, sitting on the opposite side of Blaise from me.

"MacNair." I huffed, taking a drink of my pumpkin juice.

"Malfoy." Our relationship since last year had gone on a downward spiral. We were almost to Malfoy and Potter status. It was ridiculous, and mad me a bit sad whenever I thought about it, but having Blaise around always made things easier, until he had to start playing messenger. Like right now for example. Draco sighed, speaking to Blaise in his typical drawl.

"Zabini, tell MacNair to pass the chicken please." Blaise snorted, getting up from the table.

"Tell her yourself, Malfoy." Draco glared up at him, and then looked at me, shaking his head.

"Never mind then." I rolled my eyes, glancing at him.

"So. . . what's all this I hear about you and Pansy?" He looked at me, shocked.

"Oh, so you're talking to me now, eh? What a shock." I glared at him, standing up from the table.

"Dammit, Malfoy! You're the one that stopped talking to me!" I stared down at him, a shocked look on his face as tears fell from my eyes.

"Krys—"

"No, no, just shut up!" I stepped away and crossed the room to the Gryffindor table, sitting down between Fred and George, who reached out and wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Sorry." Fred nodded.

"Yeah, me too. Want us to go at him with our Beater's bats?" I shook my head, trying to laugh.

"No, it's no big deal. Why should I care who he swaps hit spit with, it's none of my business." Ron huffed from across the table.

"It is if it's hurting you, Krys. And if it is, then it's my business too." I shook my head, sighing.

"I don't even care. . .I just wish he'd talk to me once in a while. Percy turned and looked at me.

"Krysten, don't worry about it. Malfoy's a prick." We all gasped and looked at him. Fred laughed.

"Ickle Percy Prefect! Such fowl language coming from you! You could lose your badge for that." Percy rolled his eyes, looking back down at his food.

"Well the kid is a prick. Disrespected me, and my badge." I laughed slightly, shaking my head. _Percy. . .such a wet blanket at times._

**~X~X~X~**

I rushed into the common room, slamming the door behind me. _The Chamber of Secrets? Opened?_ I stood there in silence, jumping when I heard a voice across the room.

"You okay?" I spun around, bursting into tears when I saw Draco standing there. I threw myself into his arms. He held me close, smiling slightly.

"You're going to be okay. We all are. We're purebloods, the thing that's in there won't come after us, I promise." I sobbed, pressing my face into his shoulder.

"Wh-what about Hermione? Or Seamus? They could all be hurt!" He tensed, probably at the idea of caring about those people, and then squeezed me tighter.

"It's going to be okay, I promise." I nodded, wiping at my eyes.

"Th-thank you." He sighed, breathing into my hair.

"No worries."

**~X~X~X~**

I ran down the hall, catching up to Draco.

"They found someone else! Petrified!" He frowned.

"Who?" I shrugged, shaking from both excitement and fear.

"I-I don't know! But after that Hufflepuff kid and Nearly-Headless Nick, who else could it be?" We started towards the courtyard, when I saw Ron standing outside the infirmary, leaning against the wall, shaking, his head in his hands. I rushed forward.

"Ron! Oh no, it's Ha—"

"Hermione! It was Hermione!" I froze, glancing towards the door and started shaking myself, Draco catching me before I could fall.

"I-I _told_ you it was going to go after her, but you wouldn't listen!" He held me close again, glancing at Ron.

"Have. . .ugh, peaceable relations with a Weasley. Have you heard anything? About how she is? And the others?" Ron nodded.

"Y-yeah. Madame Pomfrey, when the Mandrakes are fully grown, is going to make a Mandrak Draught, cure the people in there. Dumbledore hopes that at least one of them will be able to tell him what did this. . .if not. . .they're closing the school. . .sending everyone home." I froze, clutching to Draco's robes. He sighed.

"I should. . .get her back to the common room. She won't be any good in classes like this." Ron nodded.

"Yeah. . .you're right." We started to walk away, when Ron called out.

"Malfoy!" We turned back, and Draco nodded.

"Yes?" Ron sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Just. . .remember. . .if you hurt her. . .at all. . .I've got a curse that'll make you heave slugs for a week." Draco snicker, turning and starting down the hall again, one arm around me.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure." I looked up at Draco as we walked, and frowned.

"What'd he mean by hurt me? You wouldn't—"

"Some people seem to be under the impression that we're dating. Though, as most impressions usually are, that's incorrect, right?" I paused before nodding slightly.

"Heh, yeah, of course. Right."

**~X~X~X~**

"Gosh, Malfoy, you're such a wank!" I stormed down the hall, Draco running after me to keep up.

"Krys! Hey!" He grabbed my arm, pulling me back, his eyes furious.

"Don't you _ever_ speak to me like that, McNair! Understand? My father could put your father out of his job on my say so! So you'd better watch yourself!" I pulled my hand back, to lay a fist to his jaw, when a green spell flew past me, hitting Draco, but then bouncing back, hitting Ron, the one who cast it. I spun around, running to Ron where he fell to the ground. Draco laughed.

"Look at the little Weasley! Can't even cast a spell without hurting himself!" The other Slytherins around him laughed, while I looked back at Ron.

"Are you okay? What spell was that?" He sat up, his face a pale shade of green.

"It was the slu—" His voice was cut off my a wave of slime and two or three slugs, which he spit up into the grass. Draco laughed, doubling over.

"Oh my, god, that's priceless! Weasley, you're an idiot!" I pulled out my wand, pointing it at him.

"Shut up!" He paused, and then turned away, walking across the courtyard. Second's later, Harry and Hermione ran up, kneeling down with me. Harry sighed.

"What happened?" Ron sat up, groaning.

"Malfoy. . .threatening Krys' father. . .cursed him." He gagged and sent a few more slugs into the grass, and I shuddered.

"Him and that stupid broken wand! Ron, you need to ask your mum to buy you a new one!" Harry helped him stand up, and he snorted.

"Yeah, my mum's gonna buy me a new wand after what we did with the car. Very likely, she's furious. She'd kill me if I asked for a new wand!" Hermione sighed, shaking her head.

"Well. . .let's get him to Hagrid. He'll get in trouble if we take him to the infirmary and tell Madame Pomfrey that this happened while he was trying to hex another student." Ron belched up a few more slugs, and we started across the grass, towards Hagrid's hut. He was just outside, filling a hole in the garden. Harry frowned.

"What's that Hagrid?" He sighed, setting his shovel against the hut.

"Something's been killing the chickens. Not sure what. . .I'll have to ask Dumbledore about it." He looked at Ron and frowned.

"What's wrong with him?" Ron outed a few more slugs, and Hagrid nodded.

"Oh. That's what. Let's get him inside." Harry nodded, supporting most of Ron's weight and lugged him inside, settling him down into a chair. Hermione sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"His wand back-fired on him. I keep telling him to ask him mum for a new one, but won't do it!" Hagrid sighed, shaking his head as he handed a bucket to run.

"Best to just wait until it stops. Better out than in." He sat down and sighed.

"So, what poor bloke was he trying ta curse?" I let out a shaky breath.

"Malfoy." Hagrid looked at me, his eyes full of concern.

"Blimey. What'd that little weasel do this time?" Ron started to speak when another wave of slugs flew from his mouth. They all looked at me, confused. Hermione sighed.

"Krysten, just tell us. We won't think any different of you for it." I bit my lip, twirling a strand of hair around my finger.

"He just. . .it's nothing really. . .Draco. . .he threatened my father's job, that's all." Hagrid's eyes narrowed, and snapped to Ron when he spoke.

"And he was hurting her arm, just look!" I clapped my arm over the newly formed bruise, hiding it from everyone else. Hagrid frowned.

"Lemme see." I paused before holding my arm out, the bruise the exact shape of Draco's hand, fingers. I sighed, shaking my head.

"It's nothing. I didn't even notice it until Ron mentioned it." Hermione sighed, looking me in the eye.

"Krysten, you really shouldn't let him get away with as much as he does. I know you. . .you care about him, but if he hurts you, he's not worth it." I bit my lip.

"Honestly. . .the only way he could hurt me, is by telling me he never wants to see me again." Ron snorted, shaking his head. I glared at him.

"Ron. . .yo—"

"He's prick! His father was a Death Eater, and they're all the same!" My eyes widened, and stared at him through wet eyes.

"Y-you. . .you filthy little bloodtraitor!" I glared at everyone else in the room, before turning and running from the hut, back up to the school. I ran down to the dungeons, walking into the common room and throwing myself down onto the couch.

"Filthy blood the lot of them! Especially that no good. . . POTTER!" I heard the footsteps before I heard his voice, just above me.

"Krys, you don't believe that." I looked up at Draco, tears running down my cheeks.

"Y-you don't know what I believe. You're just as bad as _them!_" He sat down next to me, pulling me into his arms, though I tried to pull away. He sighed.

"Please. . .forgive me. . .I didn't mean I word I said back there. . .I just get so upset when you're mad at me. It drives me insane." I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder.

"No matter what you or I say. . .you know we'll always be best friends, right?" He nodded, hesitating before kissing my hair.

"Yeah. I know."

**~X~X~X~**

I stood with the Weasleys in the infirmary, crying over Ginny's unconscious body. After everything that had happened in the Chamber of Secrets, it was all she could do to answer simple questions when she was awake. I looked up when the door opened, Malfoy stepping in. Mr Weasley stood up, and the twins rushed him, pinning him against the door.

"Get out! Stay away from our sister you filthy Slytherin!" I rushed forward, putting a hand on their chests.

"Stop it! Blimey, you'd think he was the one that did this to Ginny!" Ron growled.

"Well you do you suppose did?" I sighed. We hadn't exactly been on the best terms since I had called him a bloodtraitor. I'd regretted it, and toold him so, but he never dropped it.

"Didn't you listen to a word Harry said, Ron? It was Vo-. . .It was the Dark Lord. Dumbledore even confirmed it. Leave Draco alone." I sighed, glancing out the windows. It was dark outside, and everyone was leaving tomorrow morning.

"I'm going. . .to go pack my things. C'mon Draco." I took his hand and pulled him out of the infirmary and to the common room.

"That was a really tactless thing to do. Showing up in there after everything." He nodded, draping his arm around my shoulders.

"Yeah. . .I know. So, last night of school, shall we celebrate?" I raised an eyebrow at him, and laughed when he pulled two butterbeers out from behind the couch. I smiled taking on from him, twisting the cap off.

"Smooth, Malfoy." He grinned, pulling me into his arms.

"And the best thing it, we're going to be the only ones in here until curfew." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh really? How'd you manage that?" He laughed.

"Oh, c'mon, MacNair, I'm a Malfoy, I've got cred here!" I rolled my eyes, sitting down in front of the fireplace. Draco took a spot next to me and smirked when Knight jumped into his lap.

"Blasted cat." I rolled my eyes, reaching out to scratch Knight's ears.

"He likes you. So get over it." Draco laughed, shaking his head.

"Hate cats. Always have."

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, my head on Draco's shoulder. I yawned, looking at the grandfather clock in the corner.

"It's almost curfew. People will be showing up soon." He nodded, glancing towards the door.

"Yeah. . .and I probably won't see much of you tomorrow. . .so. . I'd better do this fast." He looked down at me, and then slowly leaned, forward, pressing his lips to mine. When he pulled away, I was vastly disappointed, wanted to kiss him more, but I didn't let it show. He grinned.

"You should probably get to bed. People might start talk if they see how red your face is right now." I blushed deeper and smiled.

"Heh. . .yeah. . ." I kissed him again, quickly, before standing up.

"Goodnight, my Dragon." He winked up at me, before leaning back against the couch, staring into the fire.

"Night." I smiled slightly, and then rushed up the stairs, falling forward onto my bed, drifting off with a smile still on my face.

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, sitting at the desk in the living room, staring out the window. Mum walked over to me, smiling slightly.

"You just got a letter." I looked up eagerly, and she shook her head.

"It's from Ron." My face fell slightly, but I nodded, taking it. It's not like I was eager to talk to Draco or anything. No, the fact that he kissed me and then never spoke to me again didn't bother me in the slightest. Of course, Ron didn't believe that. We had mended things up over the summer, and I was glad he was writing to me again. I broke the seal on the letter open and pulled out the parchment, reading it quickly.

_Krys,_

_I'm telling you! Mum got me a new wand, if you're really that upset about Malfoy, let me send a few well executed curses his way! I'm worried about you. I don't want what happened with that Jake guy to happen with Malfoy. . .because with Malfoy I won't be able to keep myself from killing him. Either get over him, or send him an owl. Because I don't want you hurting over him. I don't like him much, but if he makes you happy, then I guess there's nothing I can do about it. . ._

_P.S. Ginny says hi. . .and that Malfoy is a wank. . .that is all._

_Love, Ron_

I smiled, quickly writing a reply before handing it off to the family owl, who flew out the window almost immediately. I got up and started to the stairs when I heard a faint pop outside the front door. _Daddy's home._ I continued up the stairs, when the doorbell rang. I turned around and frowned.

"Um. . .I'll get it!" I walked back down the stairs and peered out the window, before wrenching the door out of my way, throwing myself into the visitor's arms.

"Draco!" Mum stuck her head out of the kitchen and smiled.

"Oh! Hello, Draco. It's been a while." He smiled, his arms wrapped around me waist.

"Yeah. . it has. . .seven years, right?" Draco chuckled slightly, looking down at me.

"You look like you thought I forgot about you or something." I sniffed, nodding.

"I kinda did. . .Ron's just about ready to kill you." He smirked.

"Tell him I said, right back at him." I rolled my eyes, and raised an eyebrow at him, for once actually looking at him.

"Your hair's not slicked back. . .it looks nice." I pulled away and looked him over.

"Draco. . .you're kinda hot. . .did you know that?" He laughed, shaking his head.

"Heard that a few times from Pansy this summer. But you were the one I was really waiting to hear it from." I blushed slightly, looking away.

"Uh. . .so. . .are we. . .?"

"Together? Yes, yes, I think that might be a good way to describe us." Mum squealed from the kitchen and I laughed at the befuddled expression on Draco's face. I whispered to him.

"She's been waiting for me to find a pureblood for years. Her first two choices were either you or Ron. You can tell how happy she is." Mum walked in from the kitchen, smiling brightly.

"Oh, Draco, would you like to stay for dinner?" He chuckled, stepping away from me, though keeping one arm around my waist.

"I'd love to Mrs. MacNair, but I was actually hoping that Krysten and I could go out tonight? Just the two of us." She nodded, her smile even brighter than before.

"Of course! No, that's wonderful!" I smiled, looking up at Draco as he pulled the door open. I followed him out onto the porch, where he had left his broom. He mounted it, and then looked back at me.

"Well? Get on." I smiled, getting on the broom behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He kicked off the ground, and then we were speeding towards London.

**~X~X~X~**

Laying on Draco's chest, I sighed.

"Tonight was perfect. I've really missed you this summer. Why didn't you write?" He was silent for a moment, and then he looked down at me.

"Well. . .my folks aren't exactly pleased with yours. They don't even know I'm here. They think I've been window shopping at Borgin & Burkes." I nodded, glancing around the room, then at the door.

"Can't believe my parents don't mind my door being closed with a boy in here." He chuckled.

"Well, I'm a Malfoy after all, perfectly respectable." I rolled my eyes looking up at him and pressing my lips to his.

"Of course." I looked up, out the window and frowned.

"It's. . .it's getting dark. . .you shouldn't be flying. . .do you want to stay here tonight?" Draco was silent for a moment, and then nodded.

"Sounds good to me." I smiled, moving over so I was laying next to him and sighed, resting my head on his chest. I started to doze off, when Draco tensed and I heard the window open. _No, no, no not now!_ I heard Jake's low voice as his feet made a soft thud on the floor.

"Kry-. . .Who the bloody hell are you?" I sat up, looking at him, the same time Draco did. He smirked.

"I'm Draco. Krysten's boyfriend. And you?" Jake glared at him.

"Krysten's boyfriend!" Draco looked at me, a smug grin on his face.

"Well?" I sighed glancing between the two.

"Jake. . .just go." He stared at me, his eyes wide.

"But. . .you said. . ."

"No, you said. I knew. . .that I was going to meet old friends at my new school, and that some things. . .a lot of things would change. How I feel about you is one of them." Jake froze, and then before I could think, he grabbed Draco and pulled him off the bed by his collar.

"You bastard!" Draco smirked and reached into his pocket, pulling out his wand and tossing it to me.

"Hold it so I won't be tempted to use it. Don't want to get in trouble." He smirked, before tucking his legs in, and laying a kick to Jake's chest, sending him flying back across the room, Draco landing gracefully on his feet.

"Malfoys. Trained in hand to hand combat for years." Jake stood up and started at him again, fists raised, and Draco pulled his back, socking Jake in the face, knocking him unconscious. I stood there, shocked, until Draco turned and looked at me, his eyes careful.

"You okay?" I nodded, and he turned to Jake picking him up by his collar.

"So. . .back out the window?" I gasped.

"No! Just. . .take him downstairs, tell my dad what happened. . .and he'll take care of it." He nodded, grabbing Jake and pulling him out of the room, not even trying to be careful as he dragged him down the stairs. I went back to the bed, laying down until Draco returned. I looked up at him, and he sighed.

"I should go. . .my parents will be looking for me. . and you know how my mum gets. . .the train leaves the day after tomorrow, I'll see you then?" I nodded, standing up and wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Sounds perfect, Dragon." He chuckled, kissing me softly.

"You know I love it when you call me that." I grinned, kissing him back.

"Yeah, I do." He glanced towards the door and sighed.

"I'll miss you." I smiled, pulling him towards the bed.

"Then stay. Please?" Draco shook his head, kissing my hair.

"I'm sorry. . .I just can't. . .I'll see you soon." I stood up on my toes, kissing him one more time, before letting him go, watching as he left my room and walked down the stairs. I laid down on my bed, curling up on my side, and instantly falling asleep.


	4. I Think I Love You

**Third Year**

I sighed, passing Ron who was talking animatedly with Hermione, and walking up to Draco, smiling when he pulled me into his arms.

"Another year of school together. Malfoy and MacNair, against the world." I smiled, standing on my toes to kiss him.

"Sounds perfect to me." Ron, Harry and Hermione walked up behind us, Mr. Weasley with them, clearing his throat.

"Kids. . .Draco." He sighed as the train's whistle blew, and looked at Harry.

"I need to speak with you for a moment. The rest of you get on the train." We nodded, hopping into the nearest car, and going into the nearest empty compartment. Neville and Ginny walked up behind us, joining us. Ginny glanced out the window and frowned.

"I hope Harry's okay. . .after Sirius Black escaped. . .everyone's been especially worried about him." I frowned.

"But isn't. . .isn't Sirius his—" The train jerk, and I nearly fell, Draco catching me by my elbow before I could hit the wall. I looked out the window, to see Harry nod at Mr. Weasley, before turning and running up to the train, jumping onto the steps and entering the door we came in. He joined us in our compartment and sighed.

"Hey you guys." He sat down between Ron and Hermione, smiling slightly at Ginny. We all sat down, settling in for the ride, when the door slid open, a small girl with long blonde and, and shocking blue eyes. Ginny smiled slightly.

"Hey Julie." 'Julie' nodded, glancing over her shoulder.

"Hey guys. . .can I sit in here? Luna's looking for me and I just. . .ugh, I do not need another year of people making Quibbler jokes at me." Ginny nodded.

"Sure thing." Julie sighed sitting down between Harry and Hermione, smiling slightly.

"Hi Harry." He nodded.

"Yeah. . .Hi." I pulled Draco to sit down next to me, letting him wrap his arms around me.

"So. . .what's all this about Sirius Black? He broke out." Hermione nodded.

"And no one knows how he did it! Or where he is now. I heard, that they're not going to allow Hogsmeade visits this year." Draco chuckled.

"I heard that that rule just went for Potter." I sighed, shaking my head. He glanced towards the door and then sighed.

"I've got to go. . .I'll be back in a bit." He kissed me quickly before standing up and leaving the compartment. Ron shuddered.

"Disgusting." I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Just because you can't get a decent snog if your life depended on it." Ron smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Whatever." I looked at Harry and frowned.

"So. . .what do you think of all this stuff about Black?" He glared down at the floor.

"If I hadn't promised Ron's dad, I'd go find Black myself. He's the reason my parents are dead." Julie frowned slightly, looking up at Harry.

"I didn't know that. I thought Who-Know-Who did it on his own?" Harry shrugged.

"The killing part. But Black was. . .he was their Secret Keeper. . .he told Voldemort where my parents were. . .everything was his fault." Hermione sighed, shaking her head.

"Harry. . .you really need to just. . .forget about this. You'll never be able to concentrate on your school work like this." Harry shrugged, looking up at the train started to slow.

"Well. . .I guess we're here. We'd better get going." I nodded, and Ron helped me take my trunk down, before me all walked out and started towards the carriages. I glanced around, calling into the crowd.

"Draco?" Ron shrugged.

"Probably ran off with Crabbe and Goyle. You'll find him eventually." I shrugged, climbing into a carriage with the others, heading off towards the school.

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, walking hand in hand with Draco down to Hagrid's hut, for Care of Magical Creatures. Class had already started, so we snuck into the back of the group, watching as Harry approached a large half eagle, half horse creature. I came up next to Ron and frowned.

"What is that thing?" He looked at me, eyeing my shirt, making me realize that the buttons were off. He cast a glare back at Draco and then sighed.

"Hippogriff. Name's Buckbeak. Another pet of Hagrid's." The class gazed in awe as Harry suddenly soared away on the beast, flying out over the lake. Hagrid watched with pride, before lifting his fingers to his mouth and letting out a long, low whistle. After Buckbeak landed, and Harry jumped off, his hair ruffled, Draco snorted.

"Big deal, he can ride a flying horse. So can I." He pushed his way to the front of the group, walking with his exaggerated swagger. Hagrid held a hand out to Draco cautioning him back, as the hippogriff, snorted irritably.

"Malfoy, take a step back, he's gonna think you're disrespecting him." Draco snorted.

"Disrespect. You don't know about respect, now do you, you great smelly beast?" He glanced over his shoulder at the Slytherins. I started to smirk, when the hippogriff shrieked, rearing up on his hind legs.

"Dr-Draco! No!" The beast slashed out with its claws, cutting deep into Draco's arm. I started forward, but Ron wrapped his arms around me, holding me back.

"No, it's too dangerous!" Hagrid rushed to slip a halter back on Buckbeak, pulling him away from the class.

"Th-that's all for today. . .someone get Malfoy to the hospital wing!" I rushed forward, kneeling next to Draco, who was clutching his arm, whimpering into the dirt.

"Ugghh, I'm gonna. . .My father's going to get that mad man fired!" I tensed as the Gryffindors in the class grumbled angrily, and then sighed, pulling Draco up into a sitting position.

"Draco, c'mon, let's get you fixed up." Tears pricked at my eyes as we stood, and started up towards the school. He groaned, glancing down at his arm.

"He's mad! Bring a beast like that to a school!" I frowned, letting go of him as I reached down and righted the buttons on my shirt.

"Well. . .we missed quite a bit of the lesson. . .I'm sure there was something that. . .that. . " He frowned.

"That what?" I sighed.

"That you did wrong! Hagrid wouldn't have brought a creature to class that he wasn't sure would be safe. . .and trying to get him fired is only going to start problems with Harry, and you know that." He huffed, shaking his head.

"No, I don't. . .go on to your next class. I know where the hospital wing is, I'll be fine." I stood on my toes to kiss him, but he quickly turned away and stormed off down the hall.

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, starting for the dungeons, when Blaise ran up to me.

"K-Krys, you don't want to go in there!" I frowned.

"What?" He glanced over his shoulder.

"Just. . .trust me. The common room is not the best place for you to be right now." I frowned, and then pushed past him, running to the door. I ran into the common room, stopping in my tracks when I found Draco snogging Pansy on the couch. I stared for a moment, and then tears started streaking down my cheeks. I sobbed, and they both looked up at me. Draco froze, and pushed Pansy away. He got up and started towards me, but I took a stepped back.

"N-No. . ." He took another stepped forward, gently grabbing my arms.

"Krys—"

"No! D-don't touch me!" I jerked away, backing towards the door. Draco followed me slowly.

"Baby. . ." I shook my head as I turned and walked out into the hall.

"Don't call me baby. . .ever again." I sobbed and started running, up the stairs and not stopping until I reached the Gryffindor common room, staring up at the portrait lady through misty eyes.

"P-please let me in." She sighed.

"I'm sorry deary, I can't." I sobbed and ran forward, pounding my fists on the side of her frame.

"R-Ron! Neville, Ginny, SOMEBODY!" I burst into tears, sliding down to the floor. It wasn't until I heard the door click that I pulled away. Harry looked down at me, shocked.

"What happened? Are you alright?" He helped me stand and guided me into the common room. I sobbed, holding my face in my hands.

"I walked in on D-Draco and Pansy sn-snogging in the common room!" Harry sighed, shaking his head.

"Ron tried to tell yo—"

"Please! Harry, I don't need this right now!" He sighed, and started towards me, when Ginny came down the stairs.

"Harr-. . .Krys! What happened!" I sobbed running up to her, throwing my arms around her.

"D-Draco, snogging with Pansy!" Ginny's eyes narrowed, and then she pulled out her wand, storming out of the common room. I frowned.

"Wh-where's she going?" Harry chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm guessing. . .Bat Bogey Hex." I started to protest, but stopped myself, biting my lip.

"Maybe she'll curse a bit of integrity into him too." A few second later, Ginny came back, followed by Ron who looked thoroughly confused, until he saw me.

"Oh THAT'S why you cursed Malfoy." He paused for a second and then stepped forward, pulling me into his arms.

"I'm sorry. . .I really don't want to say I told you so, but it's sort of unavoidable at this point." I laughed slightly through the tears, burying my face into his chest.

"I-I should have listened! I can't believe he would do this!" Ron sighed, kissing my hair.

"It's gonna be okay. You can sleep with me tonight, alright? It'll be fine." I nodded.

"Thank you."

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, curled up against Ron's sighed, jumping when I heard a loud shriek downstairs.

"Ron!" He bolting upright.

"What?" Another scream came from downstairs and he jumped off the bed, Harry following him.

"What was that?" They both ran down the stairs, and into the common room. I followed after them, stopping when I saw Percy standing outside the door, staring at the portrait. Fred and George came down the stairs, frowning.

"Percy, what the hell was that?" The lady in the portrait screamed.

"Black! It was Sirius Black!" I gasped, glancing at Harry, when I heard footsteps running down the hall.

"Krys! MacNair!" Percy turned and harrumphed.

"Malfoy, return to the Slytherin dungeons. Professor Dumbledore has issued a search of the castle, and all students are to stay with their house." Draco growled.

"Well then let me take Krysten! She's in Slytherin! She's my girlfriend!" I glared at the door.

"Shove off, Malfoy! Why don't you go back to snogging Parkinson until the castle's on the all clear?" The was a short scuffle, and then Draco walked into the common room. He walked up to me, pushing Ron out of the way as he tried to stop him.

"Krys, please, believe me. Pansy completely mauled me! Blaise was trying to keep you out until I could get her off me! You know I would never do that to you! No matter how mad I was at you! Please!" I stood there for a moment, shaking my head.

"No. . .no Draco. I can't anymore. Dealing with your mood swings . . .and. . .your vendettas against everyone in this damn castle! How is it fair to me? Just. . .just go back to Slytherin, Draco. I'm staying here for a while." He frowned, scratching at the back of his neck.

"Uh. . .so. . .we're breaking up?" I bit my lip, before nodding.

"Y-yes. . .I'm sorry." Draco nodded, taking a step forward.

"Just. . .a goodbye." He stepped forward, softly kissing my hair, before turning, and leaving the common room. I stood there, staring after him, tears streaking down my cheeks. Ron stepped forward, wrapping his arms around me.

"I'm sorry." I shook my head, placing my hand over his.

"D-don't be. I'll be fine."

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, curled up on the couch in the Gryffindor common room. Ron stood at the bottom of the stairs and sighed.

"C'mon. I'm going to bed, you should too. It's late." I stood up, following him up the stairs, flopping down onto the bed. Ron sighed, laying down next to me.

"I've been listening around. Draco totally went off on Pansy today. Told her to never speak to him again if she knew what was good for her. . .and now he won't leave the dungeons, not even for Snape's class. His father's really ticked off." I sighed, rolling over on my side.

"Ron. . .I don't want to talk about him, okay?" He nodded slightly, before turning off the lamp and pulling the curtains around the bed shut.

I had dozed off, when suddenly, I heard a loud tearing noise, and Ron's yell. I heard several heavy footsteps, and the window shatter, before the lights in the room starting turning on. Harry pulled the curtains to the side, looking down at us.

"Ron, what happened?" Ron sat up, pointing towards the window.

"It was. . .S-Sirius Black!" Harry glanced over his shoulder at Neville, Seamus and Dean, before starting for the door.

"I'm going. . .to go get Dumbledore."

**~X~X~X~**

After the situation was explained to Dumbledore, he ordered everyone to relocate themselves to the Great Hall, where, instead of the usual house tables, the floor was covered in large purple sleeping bags. I started to pull a sleeping bag over to were Ron, Harry and Hermione were, when Draco ran up, pulling me into his arms, despite Ron's loud protests.

"Y-You're okay! I'm so glad you're okay!" It wasn't until I felt the moisture in my hair that I realized he was crying. I glanced around at the people that were watching, and then wrapped my arms around him, squeezing him tightly.

"I-I'm okay. Everything's fine." He held me away from him, rubbing at his eyes.

"I-I heard that Black cut through the curtains on Weasley's bed. . .I knew that's where you were. . .d-don't ever do that to me again to you understand?" I glanced over my shoulder at Ron and sighed.

"D-Draco, I have to—"

"No! Listen to me! I couldn't stand to see you hurt, _please,_ let me take care of you!" I stared up at him, and then nodded slightly.

"O-okay. Yeah." He pulled me to his chest, kissing my hair.

"Thank you, thank you so much." I glanced back at Ron, who was now glaring at the two of us, before grabbing my sleeping bag and walking off with Draco to a secluded corner of the hall. We laid down next to each other, and I buried my face into chest.

"Draco. . ." He smiled, tightening his arms around me.

"Yes, love?" I blushed, closing my eyes.

"I. . .I think I love you." Draco was silent for a moment and then sighed.

"Love you too."


	5. He's So Mature

Draco grumbled, sitting at one of the tables in the Great Hall, one arm circled around my waist.

"Some last day this is. That bloody hippogriff escaped and no one's bothering to investigate, and now, Black's gone too!" I smiled, kissing his cheek.

"Black isn't our problem." Draco's eyes narrowed.

"He could have hurt you. As of today, he is my problem." I shook my head, taking his face between my hands and kissing him softly.

"My Dragon." He chuckled, pulling me closer.

"My mum's gonna be pretty angry if she finds out you've been calling me that you know?" I laughed, taking a bite of my toast.

"Well, she's just gonna have to come to terms with the fact that she's not the only girl in your life now." He chuckled, kissing my hair.

"Yeah. . .yeah I guess she is." He glanced down the table, and then looked back at me.

"How'd you like to re-meet my parents this summer? Come to the Manor for maybe a week? My mum would love to see you again, I mentioned you last summer and she was so happy to hear that you were still around." I blushed slightly.

"Um. . .yeah. Yeah, that sounds great. I miss Narcissa, she was amazing." Draco smiled.

"I forgot she let you call her by her first name." I grinned.

"She always said either that or Mum. . .and you always got a bit grumpy when I called her 'Mum'." He laughed heartily and then reached into his pocket.

"Actually. . .I wouldn't mind so much anymore." He pulled his hand out of his pocket and dangling from his fingers was an intricate silver necklace, a snake in the shape of a heart, with emeralds for eyes. I chuckled, lifting the necklace to get a better look at it.

"It's beautiful." He smiled, unhooking the clasp with ease.

"Yes, and I want you to have it." I blushed, nodding as I lifted my hair so he could fasten the necklace around my neck.

"Perfect." Draco kissed my hair and sighed, crunching on a piece of bacon while I admired the necklace in the light from the windows above the staff table. Draco was silent for a moment, and then huffed.

"Weasley wants to talk to you." I looked over at the Gryffindor table, where Ron was looking at me, gesturing anxiously for me to come over. I frowned slightly and stood up, crossing the hall, waving at some friends in the other houses, before sitting down between Ron and Fred.

"What's up?" Fred grinned, draping an arm around my shoulders.

"My, my, what a nice little bauble Malfoy's got on you. When's the wedding?" Ron glared at him and then sighed.

"Uh. . .my mum sent me and owl today, asked me to ask you if you still wanted to go see the Quidditch World Cup this summer?" I bit my lip and shrugged.

"Uh. . .I'd love to. . .but. . I'm not sure if I'll be available that weekend . . .I'm going to the Malfoy's for a week so. . .you know. . ." Ron rolled his eyes.

"They might take you themselves. Yeah. . .they'd probably have better seats than us anyways." I sighed.

"Ron, please, don't get all sore abou—"

"I'm not sore! I mean. . .you've known about this since before we started school! I would have thought. . .you would have planned around it." He sighed, glancing over his shoulder, "Now. . .why don't you just. . run back to your. . .'Dragon'." I huffed, standing up and glancing at Harry, smirking when I caught Ginny and Julie both fighting for his attention. Harry looked up at me, his eyes pleading. He mouthed a few words. 'Help me!' I laughed, and then walked away, back to Draco, who wrapped his arms around me.

"What'd the ginger want?" I rolled my eyes.

"He wanted me to go to the Quidditch World Cup, if I—"

"That was sort of my plan for the week you stay. . .was supposed to be a surprise." I smiled, kissing his cheek.

"That's okay. I'm more than happy to go with you. Ron get's to see me all the time during the summer anyhow." Draco chuckled, kissing my shoulder.

"You know. . .that necklace really does look stunning on you." I blushed, looking away from his deep, silvery eyes. He smiled, making me look up at him.

"Shall we go. . .'pack'?" I glanced at Blaise who sophisticatedly ignored us. He knew the 'code', it was the same he used on all his girls. I nodded, giggling quietly.

"Yeah. Maybe you could help me fit my books in my trunk." Blaise choked, spitting his pumpkin juice across the table into Pansy's face. He coughed, pounding on his chest.

"Dude! Ew!" Draco laughed, pressing his face into my shoulder as I rolled my eyes.

"Blaise, you're sick. I was serious." Pansy glared up at me, and I smiled widely at her, before taking Draco's hand and pulling him out of the Great Hall, pressing my lips against his.

"Maybe we should hold off on breaking school rules until we're in my room." I sighed, pulling away slightly.

"You're no fun. Live dangerously." He smirked, sweeping me up into his arms and continued down the hall. I sighed, resting my head in the crook of his neck, and Draco smiled, holding me tighter as he started down the stairs.

"Now. . .I honestly think we should _really_ pack. We're going to be way too crowded up here when everyone else starts to pack." I nodded, kissing him fervently, circling my arms around his waist. He chuckled.

"Then again. . .your lips are very persuasive." I laughed, pulling away.

"No, I've got to go find my cat. We'll meet up later." I kissed him once more before starting up to my room, glad to find that Knight had fallen asleep on my bed. I carefully picked him up slipping him into his cage, closing it, before crossing the room and tossing my books into my trunk, along with my spare robes, and some old quills. I'd throw them out later.

I'd just finished packing, when Pansy came up to the room, her eyes narrowing when she saw me.

"Bitch." I rolled my eyes, walking to the door.

"Skank." I glanced back at her once, before bounding down the stairs, smiling when I found Draco sitting on the couch, reading through a book. I jumped over the back of the couch, landing in his lap.

"Hello there, Dragon." He grinned, and pressed his lips to mine, shifting our bodies so he was suspending himself over me, his lips not once pulling away from mine. Draco started to lift my skirt, but I reached down, grabbing his wrist.

"Nuh, uh. Not in the common room." He pulled away, his breathing heavy.

"Up in my room?" He kissed my neck, and I moaned quietly, put pushed him away all the same.

"N-no. You share a room with three other guys, any of them could walk in." He shrugged.

"I'll put a sock on the door." I laughed, shaking my head.

"Draco. No." I kissed him quickly, and then pulled away, "Let's. . .get you packed. I'm all ready to leave for the train." He groaned, kissing me again.

"You know. . .you're too sexy for your own good." I laughed, knotting my fingers in his hair, pressing my body against his. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"You want to go now?" I shook my head and winked.

"Nah. I just like making you squirm." I kissed him again, and started to get up, but he pulled me back down.

"What would you say, if I wanted to buy you a diamond?" I smiled slightly, resting my head on his shoulder.

"I would say I couldn't accept such an elaborate gift. At least. . .not right now." He frowned slightly, pulling me closer.

"Why not?" I lightly brushed my lips against his, making him smile again.

"Because. I'm barely fourteen. I don't need big gems, or expensive gifts to be happy. I just need you." He laughed turning his eyes to the ceiling, and then back to me.

"You know how much I love it when you say that?" I smiled, curling up against his chest, enjoying the warmth of being in his arms.

"Probably as much as I love saying it." He chuckled quietly, kissing my hair as he leaned back into the couch.

"Even more."

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, standing in Malfoy's arms on Platform 9 ¾. He kissed my hair, and I buried my face into his chest, taking in his scent, cool mint, with a hint of apple.

"I'm going to miss you." He smiled, holding me away and looking me in the eyes.

"Don't worry, love. I'll talk to my parents, get the okay, and you'll be at Malfoy Manor as soon as possible. I want to spend as much time with you this summer as I can." I grinned, wrapping my arms around his waist, enjoying the feel of his strong arms circling around me, flexing subtly.

"It sounds perfect." He nodded, and then his eyes travelled to the necklace he gave me.

"And if you miss me too much, just look at the necklace, and know I'm just an owl post away, alright?" I smiled, standing on my toes, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, before reaching out and grabbing the handle on my trolley.

"I'll talk to you later." I waved at the Weasleys as I passed them, and then exited the platform, walking out to the parking lot of the train station where Mum and Daddy were waiting for me. _You'll see him soon. . .don't worry._ Mum smiled at me as Daddy started tossing my things into the trunk of the car.

"Oh, that's such a pretty necklace! Where'd you get it?" I beamed, glancing towards the station.

"Draco." Daddy lifted his head to see, nodding his approval at the piece of jewelry, and then closed the trunk with a slam.

"Well, let's head home."

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, lounging in the living room, when Mum called from the kitchen.

"Sweety! You've got an owl from Draco!" I stood up, catching the envelope when she tossed it to me. I broke the seal and read quickly, bouncing on the balls of my feet.

"The Malfoy's said it was okay for me to. . .to spend the rest of summer at the Manor! Draco and. . .and Mr. Malfoy are going to be here. . .later tonight to come get me! . . .That's okay, right Mum?" She glanced from me to Daddy who was reading his Daily Prophet silently.

"Well. . .if your father doesn't have a problem with Lucius being—"

"I do have a problem with Lucius being here, but since it's for my Button, and it will make her happy, then I'll just have to endure it." I smiled, bounding across the kitchen and throwing my arms around his neck.

"Thank you, Daddy!"

**~X~X~X~**

I paced the front hall, my school trunk waiting by the door. I jumped at the slightest noise, Mum chuckling at me from the parlor. I started to sit next to her, when there was a sharp knock at the door and I stood up, starting to go to answer, but Daddy stopped me.

"I'll answer. . .haven't seen Lucius. . .in a while." He walked to the door in just a few strides, and pulled it open, his face stoic and unemotional as he stared into Mr. Malfoy's face.

"Lucius." Mr. Malfoy nodded semi-politely.

"Matthew." Draco sighed, slipping past his dad and walking up to me, pulling him into his arms. He smiled fondly when he caught sight of my necklace.

"Still wearing it. Perfect." I smiled, looking up at him, his face the same, his cheekbones more prominent though, but his eyes still the same, gorgeous, wintry silver. His hair wasn't has messy as he had worn it last year, but was still enough to make him look extremely sexy. He wore a simple black suit, and black dress shoes, just as a Malfoy would. He kissed my hair and then whispered in my ear, "My mum is so excited to see you. She's been cooking with the house elves all day. Father hates it of course, but she won't hear a word of it." He turned towards the door and grabbed my trunk, starting to pull it out onto the porch, when Mr. Malfoy slammed his cane down on its lid.

"Draco. Don't be ridiculous. I'll call a house elf to carry that." Draco frowned.

"I've got it, Father." They stared at each other in silence for a moment, before Mr. Malfoy looked away, apparently dismissing Draco, because he turned and continued pulling the trunk out onto the porch. I followed along behind him, hissing in his ear.

"You father hasn't changed a bit." Draco laughed, kissing me softly.

"You're telling me. Try living with him for fourteen and a half years." I sighed, taking his hand in mine.

"So how are we getting to your house?" He grinned, reaching into a bush and pulling out his broom.

"Talked Father into letting us ride on my broom. Mostly because Mum was begging for more time to finish dinner." I smiled, watching as he mounted the broom, climbing on behind him. He grinned. "Alright, Let's go!" As soon asi got a good grip on his waist, he kicked off the ground and we were flying.

**~X~X~X~**

We landed just outside the gates of Malfoy Manor, where I smiled when I heard the sound of their peacocks. Draco wrapped an arm around my waist as we passed through the gates, a house elf appearing at our side.

"Master Malfoy, good to see you home! Mistress MacNair, good to see you again!" I didn't recognize the elf, but I'm sure most of the elves here had been around since before I was born, so it was no surprise he. . .or she recognized me. Draco nodded politely, addressing the elf with more courtesy than was common for the Malfoy's.

"Pasty, please tell my mother we're home. Let her know she can stop cooking, and come be sociable." The elf chuckled, keeping pace with us as we walked.

"The Mistress has become infatuated with the kitchen, you sir. Pasty wouldn't be surprised if she never let us cook alone again!" Draco chuckled quietly, tightening his arm around me.

"Just let her know we're here Pasty." Pasty nodded, disappearing in a flash of light, and with a loud crack. Draco sighed as we finally reached the front steps and walked into the front hall of the large mansion. He sighed, taking my coat and hanging it up by the door with his, before shouting into the house.

"Mum! Krysten's here!" A second later, Mrs. Malfoy Apparated right in front of us, the warm motherly smiled on her lips one I recognized fondly. She smiled, extending her arms out to me, pulling me into a soft hug.

"Oh, darling it's so good to see you again. Draco simply won't shut up about you when he's home for holidays." Draco blushed and sighed, shaking his head. I smiled.

"Narcissa, I've missed thi—"

"Sweety, please, call me Mum, it's inevitable that that's going to be what I am to you in the future." Draco gasped.

"Mum! Please!" She chuckled, wrapping an arm around the small of my back and towing me down the hall.

"Come. I'll show you the house. The elves are almost finished setting up the dining room, and then we'll retire to the parlor to catch up." I looked back at Draco who nodded encouragingly and then walked off down the hall in the opposite direction. I looked at Narcissa and smiled.

"Na-. . .Mum. . .what'd you mean. . .it's inevitable?" She walked in silence for a moment, and then smiled.

"I really wasn't supposed to say anything, but. . .has Draco ever asked you about. . .giving you diamonds?" I nodded impatiently.

"Yes. . .On the last day of school." Narcissa smiled as they turned into a small office-like room.

"He really cares about you. He's so young, but mature beyond his years." She looked at the necklace Draco had given me and smiled.

"He so good at picking out jewelry. I didn't help him out at all with that necklace. And he's. . .he's set on a ring." I blushed furiously, sitting down in a large, fluffy chair across the room.

"That's. . .that's something." Narcissa started to speak, when Draco stuck his head into the room, smiling.

"C'mon ladies. Dinner is served." I smiled, rushing to his side, softly pressing my lips against his. He smiled, wrapping his arms around me.

"Did you miss me or something?" I laughed, slinging my arms around his neck.

"Always." Narcissa smiled, passing us in the doorway.

"Alright you two, let's not make your father wait any longer. He gets grumpy when he's hungry." We all laughed, and then started down the hall towards the main dining room.


	6. Sleep, Love

After dinner, Narcissa once again pulled me down the hall, into the parlor, which was decorated with different shades of green, and black. She pulled me down onto a small love seat, pouring us each a cup of tea.

"So, please, tell me how your parents are. I do miss Georgie. She hasn't responded to any of my letters for years!" I nodded, looking at the tray, which suddenly, magically, began to move. A small spoon lifted off of it, and pour two spoonfuls of sugar into my tea. I smiled.

"Thank you. Yes um. . .my Mum. . .she. . .she stopped answering letters to. . .former Death Eaters after we moved from Burwind." I tilted my head to the left, meaning the house a few miles down the road.

"Everything. . .just with the Dark Lord and raising me, it was too much for her. And of course the inquiries my dad was facing at work. We had to get away. I think. . .I think we even got a letter from Sirius Black not too long ago, but with everything that was going on, with Harry Potter, she didn't even open it. . . .I might make her though. . .it'd be interesting to see what he had to say." Narcissa nodded, taking a sip of her tea.

"And. . .how've you been? Draco told me about. . .how you were with Ronald Weasley when Sirius cut through his bed's curtains. That must have been terrifying. Draco told me he was absolutely frantic." I nodded, setting my tea down on the small table.

"Yes, absolutely terrifying, and there was nothing I could do, my wand was outside of the bed, so. . .if he had wanted to kill me. . .nothing would have been able to stop him." Just then, Draco walked in, shaking his head.

"Can we _please_ talk about something more upbeat? I really don't need to hear all the little details of the. . .of that night." Narcissa nodded, her eyes as she looked at him, loving and warm.

"Of course Draco. We can talk about something else." We all sat in silence for a moment, and then Draco chuckled, crossing his legs.

"Well, damn, now I don't know what to talk about." Narcissa's eyes narrowed.

"Watch your language. I sure hope you don't talk like that at school." I smiled slightly, and then giggled at Draco's response.

"No , Mummy, never." She smiled, satisfied with his response and then looked back at me.

"And how's school?" I shrugged.

"It could be better. I'm not very good at Potions, and Herbology bores me. I've got an O in Defense Against the Dark Arts though. And an A in Charms and Transfiguration. . .Professors Flitwick and McGonagall don't like me much. I'm the only Slytherin that socializes with Potter and his friends. Makes for some rather confused teachers." Narcissa chuckled, glancing at Draco and then back to me.

"Draco tells me you're very close with the Weasleys. When did that relationship come about?" I nodded, distractedly.

"Yes, uh. . .well. . .with the inquiries going on at work, Mr. Weasley vouched for my dad, keeping him from losing his job. After that, me and the Weasley kids were always lumped together when their parents needed someone to watch them. Or when my parents needed someone to watch me. I'm closest to Ron, and their youngest, Ginny, but all the other boys are really nice. Charlie sometimes sends me souvenirs from Romania, or I might get something interesting from Egypt with Bill's name on it, but I mostly stick to the younger kids. Percy's okay too, just a bit annoying." Draco snorted, shaking his head.

"You mean _really_ annoying. He never gets off my back. Thinks I'm going to assassinate someone every time I pick up the pumpkin juice!" Narcissa chuckled quietly, and for a few minutes, we sat in silence, when she suddenly perked up.

"Did Draco ever show you what I taught him to do with paper birds?" I frowned slightly, shaking my head.

"Um. . .no." She smiled, pulling a piece of paper out of a notebook and handed it to Draco.

"You fold it dear, I'll charm it for you." Draco nodded, grabbing a quill and some ink, writing a few short words on the paper that I couldn't see, and then started to fold it, until it looked like a swan. Narcissa stood up and walked to his side, pulling out her wand as she did to. She tapped the bird with her wand, and then Draco took it up into his hands. He grinned at me.

"Watch this." He pointed the swan in my direction, and blew it off his hand, just before it started to fall, its wings started to flap, and it flew towards me. I extended my hands and smiled as it landed softly in my palm. A second later, the paper started to unfold, and I saw the words on the inside.

_I love you._ I smiled up at him, and he winked, flashing me a toothy grin. I looked down, and then bird refolded itself, right there in my hands. I looked back at Draco, mouthing a response to his message. _I love you too._ Narcissa glanced between the two of us, a smile on her face, and then sighed.

"Well, we should all be getting to bed. The Quidditch World Cup is tomorrow!" Draco nodded, taking my hand as he stood up, pulling me with him. I smiled.

"Goodnight Narci—"

"Mum!" I laughed, shaking my head.

"Goodnight, Mum." She smiled, satisfied, and kissed Draco's cheek before turning and leaving the parlor. Draco wrapped his arms around me, pressing his lips to mine, making me feel warm, and extremely pleased to be where I was. He sighed.

"Let's get to my room. She's right, we're going to have to leave early in the morning to find a decent camping spot." I raised an eyebrow at him, and we walked out into the hall, starting towards the stairs.

"We're going camping? A Malfoy, camping? Really?" He laughed, pulling me up the stairs and down another hall.

"Not so much camping. . .more. . .staying in a smaller house. Magical tents are fabulous." I smirked, kissing his neck as he opened the door to his room, leading me inside. I sighed when I saw my trunk, and Knight curled up in his cage on top of it.

"Oh look! Your dad brought Knight too!" Draco frowned slightly, sitting down on the bed.

"Wow. . .and my dad hates cats. . .he must have been feeling generous." I shrugged, letting Knight out of his cage, watching as he jumped up into Draco's lap.

"Or my mum insisted." I sighed, crossing the room and laying down. Draco hesitated before leaning back, resting his head on my stomach. After ruffling Knight's fur, I started to stroke Draco's hair. He closed his eyes, and began humming a low tune I didn't recognize. I let my eyes slide shut, and before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep.

**~X~X~X~**

I woke up to Draco's lips lightly brushing my neck, my jaw, my shoulders. I moaned quietly, and he chuckled.

"Wake up, love. It's time to go." I peered through my eyelashes at him and shook my head.

"One more hour, please?" He kissed me again, this time on the lips.

"We need to go. We'll miss the Portkey." He pulled me up into his arms and sighed, kissing my hair.

"I guess I'll just have to carry you then." I rolled my eyes and jumped down, swaying slightly before catching my balance and walking out into the hall. A house elf ran up to us, carrying a small tray, holding two bagels and two cups of tea.

"Young Master Malfoy! It's almost time to leave!" We took our bagels and tea and started down the hall, eating and drinking in silence, the elf reappearing when we were finished eating. We started down the stairs when I noticed what Draco was wearing. Another simple suit, silver buttons and cuff links. His shoes shone brilliantly, and I suddenly felt very plain standing next to him, in my long sleeved sweater and jeans. He frowned.

"You alright?" I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I'm just. . .you're so dressed up." He frowned, glancing over my clothes, starting to speak, but then stopped.

"Come on. You can borrow an old dress of my mum's." He pulled me down the hall to a room which was full of racks of clothes, so many different colors, it was hard to believe they all belonged to a Malfoy. He dug around a bit, and then came back with a simple, black, long-sleeved, boat neck dress. He held it up to me, and it hung to the floor. He pulled me across the room to a screen which blocked off a corner of the room.

"Change into this. I'll find you some shoes." I nodded, slipping out of my old clothes and into the dress, feeling like a Malfoy as I looked at myself in the mirror. A few seconds later, Draco tapped on the screen.

"You decent?" I nodded, stepping out in front of him. He smiled, gently taking my hand and twirling me around.

"You look lovely." He knelt down before me, and slipped my feet into a pair of shimmering black flats. Standing up, he moved my hair so it was hanging down in front of my shoulders. He eyed my necklace and sighed.

"I don't suppose we have time to find you earrings that match. . .but anyhow, you look stunning." I frowned slightly, looking down at the dress.

"Are you sure this is alright. . .for a sporting event?" Draco laughed.

"You're with a Malfoy, anything you wear is perfect." I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder as we left the room, walking down the stairs. When Narcissa saw us, she squealed in delight.

"Oh, you two, you're adorable!" I noticed a quick smirk crossed Mr. Malfoy's features, and then he settle back into his usual sneer.

"Are you two ready to go?" Narcissa huffed.

"Oh, dear, we must get pictures!" Draco chuckled.

"Mum, you can get pictures before the. . .you know." She stared at us for a moment, and then nodded.

"I suppose. . .oh! I need to go buy you dress robes! Good, now I have something to do while you're gone." She gave me a quick hug, before turning and rushing down the hall. Mr. Malfoy sighed, pushing the front door open.

"Let us leave. The Port Key's been placed at the end of the drive." Draco nodded, pulling me out the door, his hand on the small of my back. We walked quickly, heading for the gates. Mr. Malfoy let out a small sound of disgust when he saw the Port Key, which was an old rusted gasoline can.

"If it wasn't a Port Key, I'd curse the person that left this here." Draco rolled his eyes, grabbing the handle on the can, while I grabbed the spout. Mr. Malfoy paused, glancing down the road, before touching his hand to the side.

"1. . .2. . .3."

**~X~X~X~**

We landed in a large field, Draco and Mr. Malfoy catching me by my elbows before I could fall into the grass. I cast them both grateful smiles, before we started walking towards a small house. Mr. Malfoy knocked on the door, looking impatient. An old man came to the door, and Mr. Malfoy sighed.

"Malfoy. Three." The man turned looking at a piece of paper on his door and then nodded.

"Site 001, sir." Mr. Malfoy nodded before starting off , walking along the edge of a forest. I sighed, my feet starting to hurt after a while. Draco glanced at me, before sweeping me up into his arms.

"Tired?" I smirked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Just a little. How much further?" Mr. Malfoy answer for me.

"Just up ahead. It's hidden so Muggle can't see it from afar." A moment later, a saw that he was right, when tents started appearing around us. We continued walking, and I waved at people from school when I saw them. I craned my neck when I saw a flash of red and grinned.

"Draco, can we go see the Weasley's, please?" Draco shared a glance with his father, and then nodded.

"Sure. But let's make it quick." I started walking, calling after them.

"Fred! George!" The twins spun around, smiling when they saw me.

"Oi! Look who decided to show up!" Ron turned, Harry and Hermione with him. He glared slightly at Draco and then walked up to us. He frowned.

"You look like a Malfoy." I blushed slightly.

"Uh. . .yeah, I borrowed the dress from Narcissa." Fred chuckled.

"Looks good on you. If I wasn't afraid that I'd have to curse Malfoy here for cursing me, I'd be all over you." Draco and Ron spoke at the same time.

"Watch yourself, Fred."

"—Weasley." They glanced at each other and smirked slightly, before looking back at Fred. I smiled, wrapping my arm around Draco's waist.

"So, seen anyone from school?" Harry nodded.

"Uh, yeah. Seamus and Dean. . .and I think I saw Julie a while ago. She was talking to. . .to. . ." Herminoe sighed.

"Cedric Diggory. And Harry's right up in a tizzy about it." I giggled looking at Harry.

"So are you upset about Cedric talking to girls, or Julie talking to Cedric?" He rolled his eyes.

"Julie talking to Cedric! He's just. . .he's a prick." I laughed glancing up at Draco and then back at Ron.

"Well. . .we should get going. We'll see you later." I waved at Hermione, and Ginny who had just walked up, before following Draco away, getting more and more nervous as the tents started getting bigger. It wasn't until we reached a large black tent, that Draco stopped.

"We have our own room in here, and a kitchen, and a parlor. . .and a dining room." I smirked, walking to the tents open flap.

"You Malfoys and your tents." He laughed, following me inside.

"Father!" He called into the tent, but received no response, except for a house elf coming out from another room.

"Master Malfoy has left for Master Crouch's tent. He'll return shortly." Draco nodded, before taking my hand and pulling me deeper into the 'tent' into another room which was decorated in silver and green, a Slytherin banner hanging on the wall. Draco's room. He pulled me down onto the bed, pressing his lips against mine as we curled up together. He kissed my hair and looked up when I low horn sounded outside.

"That means they're letting people into the stadium now." I kissed his neck and sighed.

"Should we go?" He tightened his arms around me and sighed.

"Might as well. Our box is at the very top." He rolled off the bed, taking me with you. I ran my hand through my hair and sighed.

"I look okay?" He nodded, kissing me heatedly.

"Yes. You look much too gorgeous to be shared. . .maybe I'll just keep you here until the game is over." I smiled, returning the kiss before pulling away.

"I've never seen a big Quidditch match, I don't want to miss this!" He smiled, wrapping his arm around my waist and towing me out of the tent.

"Well, then I suppose we can go." I walked with him, enjoying the stares I was getting as people passed us. He chuckled darkly.

"They can never keep their eyes off the Malfoys. Do you like the attention?" I blushed, leaning into his side.

"Well. . .it's flattering, to say the least." He smiled, his arm tensing as we started up the stairs to our box.

"You'll get used to it. Promise." As we climbed higher up the stairs, the people thinned out, soon, we were the only ones on the stairs. Draco pulled me into a box, and I smiled when I saw we were sitting right behind the Weasleys.

"Ron! Harry, Hermione!" Draco let out a sigh of exasperation as he sat, pulling me down next to him. Hermione looked back at me and smiled.

"Krysten, you look gorgeous in that dress." I beamed.

"You really think so? I borrowed it from Draco's mother." She glanced at Draco and then back to me.

"So you're staying at his house, then?" I nodded, frowning slightly.

"Yes, didn't Ron tell you?" Hermione looked at Ron, suddenly punching his arm.

"You said she was visiting family this summer!" I sat confused for a moment, and then started to understand. Ron didn't want it to seem like I turned him down to go with Draco. I looked at Ginny and smiled.

"So, Ginny, how was your summer?" She shrugged, putting her feet up on the railing of the box.

"It was fine." Fred chuckled.

"She went out and got herself a boyfriend." I gasped at her, and then smiled.

"Really? Who?" She blushed, her ears turning red like Ron's when he was embarrassed or mad. . .or both.

"D-Dean Thomas." I smirked, shaking my head.

"That's great." Draco sighed, draping his arm around my shoulders.

"The game's starting." Just as he spoke, another loud horn sounded, and Ireland's team flew out onto the pitch, circling above the stands. The twins looked up, laughing when Ireland's mascots, leprachans came dancing out onto the field. Seconds later they flew up into the air, making different formations in the middle of the pitch. Before splitting off, they threw handfuls of gold into the crowd. Ron caught a handful, and pushed the gold into Harry's hands.

"For the Omnoculars!" Before the leprachans could leave the field, another horn blew, and Bulgaria's team soared out onto the pitch. Ginny reached back to grab my hand, giggling.

"Look it's Krum!" I leaned forward and grinned, watching as he darted past the crowd. A second later, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I looked around at Malfoy who had his eyebrow raised at me.

"I thought I was your favorite Quidditch player?" I laughed, settling back into my seat, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Of course you are." He smiled, frowning at Ron, Harry and the twins as they leaned forward over the railing.

"What's. . .oh." He stood up, staring down over their shoulders, "Veela." He noticed Ron leaning dangerously far forward and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him back in. Ron growled at him.

"Shove off Malfoy, I'm watching the mascots." Draco rolled his eyes and sat back down, whispering in my ear.

"Veela. Once they're gone he'll be fine. . .that is if he doesn't fall over the railing first." I looked up at Ron, worried, but sighing in relief when I saw that Hermione was holding onto the back of his jacket, and Ginny holding onto Harry. Draco sighed, glancing at the large banner that spanned across the pitch.

"Let's just hope this game goes by fast."

~X~X~X~

Draco sighed, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Can't believe Ireland won. If Krum had just held off a bit longer on the Snitch. . ." We started down the stairs, and I looked up at Ron and harry who were behind us.

"Well still, it was an exciting game to say the least." Ginny snorted.

"Yeah, too bad Harry missed half of it because he was so caught up in his Omnoculars." Ron snickered, bumping into Harry as we turned down onto the next flight of stairs.

"Those Veela were something weren't they?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Ron, you're such a pig." Ron raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm a pig because I like pretty girls?" He winked at me, making Draco tighten his arm around my waist. Ron grinned satisfactorily, and then looked at George, who was speaking in low voices with Fred.

When we reached the ground, the Weasleys continued wakliing along with us, despite the fact that their tent was off in the opposite direction. I started to say goodbye and walk away, when there was a loud rumble from across the camping sites, and then suddenly screaming. Just a second later, everything was in chaos. Draco pulled me closer to his chest, and then loosened his arms.

"Go with Ron, I need to find my dad." I looked at him with wide eyes.

"N-no!" He glanced over his shoulder and then looked me in the eyes.

"Please!" He kissed me quickly, and then pushed me into Ron's arms, before turning and running off, drawing his wand. I screamed after him, kicking my legs, trying to get away from Ron.

"Draco! No, please!" Ron started towing me off, with a little help from Harry. Mr. Weasley rushed up, his eyes wide.

"Head for the woods! Stay together!" Ron nodded, holding me as he ran. Tears ran down my cheeks as we got deeper into the forest.

When we stopped running, I burst into unbridled tears, and Hermione threw her arms around me, letting me cry into her shoulder. Ron paced around, his wand out, grumbling under his breath.

"Bloody Malfoy. Just leaving her. Idiot's what he is!" I looked up, glancing around where we were.

"Wh-where's the twins? Ginny?" Harry froze, looking around.

"I. . .I don't know." He stared towards the trees, when more screams sounded out, and through the trees, we could see Muggles, one of them the man that told us where our campsites were, the others probably his wife and two children, floating in the air above a group of darkly cloaked figures. I froze, nearly falling to my knees.

"D-death Eaters!" Ron growled, his eyes narrowed.

"Well, now we know where Malfoy should look for his dad." Hermione frowned, and started to speak, when there was a flash of green. I instinctively looked up.

"The. . .it's the Dark Mark." My left arm tingled, though I know I didn't have one there, and I suddenly wondered if Daddy was in the group of men outside of the trees. _He wouldn't. Don't think like that._ Suddenly, Draco was at my side, holding a tin can in his hand.

"We're leaving." He took my arm, pressing my hand to the can.

"1 2 3!" I felt a sharp pull at my naval, and then we were standing at the gates of Malfoy Manor.

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, standing up on a small stool in Narcissa's closet.

"Um. . .Mum. . .isn't this. . .isn't it a bit. . .extravagant to wear to school?" She chuckled, shaking her head.

"Didn't you read your letter at all? It said that you need dress robes this year. Draco has a set too, so don't be embarrassed. I sighed, looking at myself in the mirror. Not only had she forced me into my new, dark blue dress robes, but she had also taken the liberty of doing my hair and make-up.

"Now, let's go show you to Draco." I froze.

"What? No, no, no, mum I can't!" Narcissa smiled, taking my hand.

"You look beautiful. Trust me." She pulled me to the door, out into her room, where Draco was, staring into the mirror, straightening the cuff links on his dress robes. He spun around, staring at me in awe.

"Krys. . . you look—

"Beautiful?" Narcissa cut him off and then looked at me, "See, darling, I told you he would love it." He nodded, walking towards me.

"No, I do. It's perfect." I blushed furiously, looking away, but he caught my chin and made me look up at him.

"You're perfect." He pressed his lips to my hair and smiled.

"Now, more importantly, how do I look?" Narcissa chuckled, shaking her head.

"You look fine." I nodded, kissing him softly.

"You look perfect." He smiled, holding me close. Narcissa smiled, starting for the door.

"I'll just. . leave you two alone." Draco looked up.

"Oh, no, Mum. I was actually going to take her out to dinner tonight. Is that alright?" She nodded eagerly.

"Of course! No, yes, go change out of your robes, and hang them up in your closet Draco." He nodded, towing me off down the hall. When we reached his room, he crushed his lips against mine.

"Put on that dress you wore to the World Cup, I love how it looks on you." I nodded, walking into his bathroom after grabbing the dress out of his closet.

Moments later I came back into the room, dressed, while Malfoy stood at the window, in just his black dress pants. I'd never seen him without a shirt on before, but I was definitely impressed. He glanced over his shoulder at me and smiled, reaching down to grab a silk, forest green shirt off his bed. I rushed forward, grabbing his wrist.

"You look good." I planted feather light kisses along his collar bone, before pressing my lips to his. He chuckled, pulling away slightly.

"Later. We've got a reservation, we can't be late." He kissed me again, pulling his shirt on and fastening the buttons as he did. I sighed, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"You really should take to going around half naked more often." Draco smiled, kissing my hair.

"Now, love. I don't think the teachers at Hogwarts would be too appreciative of that." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Some of the female ones might be." He rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"The only female I want appreciating my physique is you." I laughed, kissing his neck.

"Well then that's already taken care of." Draco smiled, pulling away and opening his closet, grabbing his broom, and then walking to the wide window, pulling it open.

"Let's go then." I got on the broom, and we took off out the window.

**~X~X~X~**

After dinner, Draco carried me into his room, laying me down on the bed. I yawned, barely able to keep my eyes open, though I could see him smiling warmly down at me.

"Sleep, love. We're heading off for school in the morning." I nodded slightly, and then slipped off into a deep slumber.

**~X~X~X~**

When I woke up, I found myself on the train, my head in Draco's lap. I looked up and frowned.

"What the. . .how'd I get here?" Draco chuckled, running his fingers through my hair.

"Couldn't get you to wake up. So I carried you." I yawned, sitting up.

"Wh-where's everyone?" Draco sighed, leaning his head against the window.

"Weasley's went off with Potter to find the candy cart, hoping to get something for you that'll wake you up. Granger went off with Lovegood and the Weasley girl to find Longbottom." I nodded, resting my head on his shoulder, looking down.

"I'M STILL WEARING THIS DRESS?" He laughed as I jumped up and looked down at myself, turning in circles.

"Well what'd you want me to do? Strip you and dress you?" I rolled my eyes.

"No! But you could have at least tried harder to wake me up!" He chuckled, taking my hands in his.

"MacNair. I was pretty much jumping on the bed for ten minutes, you wouldn't budge." I started to protest, when the compartment door opened, and Ginny, Hermione, and Julie walked in. Ginny grinned.

"We found out why we needed dress robes!" I looked at her, dropping Draco's hands.

"Why?" Hermione glanced over her shoulder and pulled the door shut, sitting down. She glanced at Draco, and then spoke in a quite voice.

"Because. This year, Hogwarts is hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament! Two other schools will be coming here for the competitions. The dress robes are for a dance in December, the Yule Ball. Only fourth years and higher can go." Ginny huffed.

"Which means I'm either not going, or will have to go with an older guy." I frowned.

"Didn't you say you were seeing Dean?" Julie smirked.

"They broke up. Apparently he was being a prick." I nodded, leaning back in my seat. Draco spoke suddenly.

"So anyone can enter the tournament?" Ginny shook her head.

"No. Only student that are of age can compete." Draco frowned slightly, and then shrugged.

"How are you finding all this out, Granger, Weasley?" Julie huffed.

"Lovegood helped too, thank you." I laughed, Hermione speaking over me.

"Percy's Head Boy. I weaseled it out of him." Draco snorted, looking out the window.

"Well, we're coming up to the station now, so let's see if your weaseling actually brought us any real news, Granger." We stood up as the train came to a stop, Draco grabbing both of our trunks, while I grabbed Knight's cage. We left the train and walked up to the carriages, hearing murmurs about the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and after a while, some people were whispering about the dress I was wearing. Draco smirked, draping his arm across my shoulders.

"There's all that attention again." He helped me into a carriage, the three girls getting in with us, and we travelled up to the castle.

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, walking to the common room, Draco following behind me. _So the Tri-Wizard Tournament really is happening here. . .interesting._ . . . .

As the week passed, students from Hogwarts, and the newcomers from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, including Victor Krum, entered their names in the Goblet of Fire. The magical object that would pick the three wizards or witches for the tournament. Even students that weren't of age tried to enter, tried to fool the Age Line Dumbledore had placed around the Goblet, though they always came back with a full, snowy white beard. Even the twins tried an Aging Draught, which didn't work, and they were sent to the hospital wing to get rid of their beards.

The day the Goblet would choose the contestants, the Great Hall was buzzing with excitement. Draco yawned, staring down at his food. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Aren't you excited?" He shrugged.

"Eh. Not really. Since Quidditch was cancelled for this ruddy competition, I've sort of lost interest." I smiled, kissing his cheek.

"I might be able to find something to interest you." He smirked, pulling my lips to his.

"Later. Let's see who's going to try to get themselves killed for a little gold." We looked up to the staff table as Dumbledore stood, and as Filch rolled out the stand that the Goblet was sitting on. Dumbledore stepped forward, the Great Hall falling silent.

"Now, we're about to find out, who will be chosen to compete in our Tri-Wizard Tournament! When your name is called, competitors come up, go into the back room through the door to my left, where you will be interviewed and have your picture taken for the Daily Prophet. Now. . ." He turned towards the Goblet, "It is time."

The flames in the Goblet turned red, and a scorched piece of parchment shot up into the air, Dumbledore catching it as it fell towards the floor.

"The champion from Durmstrang. . .Victor Krum!" The Durmstrang students, and most of the Quidditch fans in the Great Hall burst into cheers. Draco smirked.

"Oh lovely. A duck footed Bulgarian. This should be fun." I smacked his arm, looking back up at Dumbledore. The flames turned red, and another piece of paper fell into his hands.

"The champion from Beauxbatons. . .Fleur Delocure!" The French witches and wizards clapped politely as the choosing continued. Dumbledore smiled as the next paper flew out of the flames.

"And now. Our own, Hogwarts champion is. . .Cedric Diggory!" Draco burst into laughter, along with most of the Slytherins, while the other three houses clapped loudly. Draco chuckled as Cedric made his way to the front.

"A Hufflepuff, really? That's priceless!" I rolled my eyes, though a smile was still on my face. Dumbledore spoke, his eyes sparkling with pride.

"And now that all the competitors have been chosen, you may all—" The Great Hall fell silent, though with the occasional murmurs, when the flames in the Goblet turned red, one time too many. Draco's brow furrowed as he leaned forward, interested as anyone as to what was going on. Dumbledore caught the paper, looking thoroughly confused.

"And our. . .fourth champion is. . .Harry Potter." All eyes turned to the Gryffindor table, at Harry, who ducked his head slightly. Ron scooted away from his slightly, and I could see his eyes were cold. _What's the matter with him?_ Dumbledore frowned in Harry's direction.

"Harry Potter!" Harry stood up, walking forwards to Dumbledore, who gestured towards the door to the backroom. Draco smirked.

"Oh my father's going to have a field day when he hears about this."

**~X~X~X~**

I sat at the base of a tree, Draco sitting up in the branches. I saw Harry approaching, and after reading the letter from Mr. Malfoy, I knew something was going to go down. Draco called out.

"Why so tense, Potter? Nervous about the competition, I see." He smirked when Harry looked up at him. "My father and I have a bet, you see. I bet you wouldn't last ten minutes in the tournament." Draco jumped down from the tree, walking up to Harry.

"He disagrees. He says you won't last five." Harry growled, stepping forward to get in Draco's face, shoving him back.

"I don't give a damn what your father thinks Malfoy! He's heartless, and he's cruel!. . .and you're pathetic." Harry turned and started off across the courtyard. Draco hissed, pulling his wand out pointing at Harry's back.

"Pathetic, am I?"

"Draco, stop!"

"You rotten blighter Malfoy!" A spell flew past Harry, hitting Draco, and then standing in front of me was a ferret. Professor Moody stormed up, using his wand to flip Draco into the air.

"Cursing a man with his back turned. . . I outta." I screamed, running past Moody to Harry, grabbing his arm.

"Make him stop!" Harry snorted, his eyes sparkling in delight.

"Why should I?" I gaped up at him, and then turned, heaving a sigh of relief when I saw Professor McGonagall just feet away.

"Professor!" She looked at me, and then past me at Moody, gasping in shock.

"Pro—Professor Moody! What are you doing?" He flipped Draco again, chuckling madly.

"Teachin'." She glanced between him and the 'ferret for a moment, before shouting out.

"Is that a student?" He laughed, answering as he pulled out the waistband of Goyle's trousers, dropping Draco inside.

"Technically, it's a ferret." Professor Mcgonagall pulled out her wand, glaring at Moody.

"Professor! We _never _use transfiguration as a punishment here at Hogwarts! Surely Professor Dumbledore told you this!" He glanced down at the ground guiltily.

"He. . .he might've mentioned it." She huffed, pointing her wand at Draco, turning him back into his human self. I ran into his arms, clutching his robes as he glared over my head at Moody.

"You can be sure my father will hear of this!" Moody turned, glaring at Draco, and then me.

"Is that a threat?" He started towards, us, making me shrink into Draco's chest.

"Is that a threat?" Professor McGonagall shrieked.

"Professor Moody!" I glared at Moody, and then at Harry, before grabbing Draco's hand and walking off, glancing at his face every couple seconds.

"Are you alright?" He nodded, wrapping his arm around my shoulder, kissing my hair.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

**xDDD MALFOY THE AMAZING BOUNCING FERRET!**


	7. It's the Only Way

I sighed, twirling my spoon in my soup.

"Has anyone seen Draco today?" Crabbe and Goyle shrugged, along with Blaise.

"No. haven't you?" I shook my head, taking a drink of my pumpkin juice.

"No, not at all! I even went up to his room, he wasn't there!" Another Slytherin glanced towards the doors to the Great Hall, looking away, and then taking a double take.

"Uh. . .you guys." I frowned, following his gaze, noticing that the whole hall had fallen silent. I stood up, my jaw dropping when I saw Draco standing at the doors, in his dress robes, a large bouquet of flowers in his arms. Several boys from the other tables snickered, but Draco just kept his eyes on me, his face serious. I stood up, confused slightly, glancing up at the staff table. All the teachers, were talking quietly amongst themselves, glancing at me, and then at Draco. Only Snape wasn't smiling. Draco took a few steps forward, smiling slightly. He called out to me, a grin spreading across his face.

"MacNair!" He rushed up to me, taking my hand.

"I want to know. . .if you'll go to the Yule Ball with me." Must of the girls in the room responded with a loud 'awwww!', even Professor McGonagall. I blushed furiously, and Draco smiled, pulling a small box out of his pocket.

"And, I got you some earrings, to match your necklace." He opened the box, and I smiled to see that they were diamond studs, the diamonds circled with dark emeralds. He handed me the flowers, one of them I noticed, when a hand crafted, silver rose.

"So, will you go with me?" I nodded, throwing my arms around his neck, and then people that were still paying attention cheered loudly. I whispered in his ear.

"Well now, Malfoy. I believe you're changing some people's view of you, you know that." He kissed me quickly, earning a warning glance from McGonagall.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that would happen." I sighed, pulling away glancing back at the table.

"Do you want to finish dinner or. . ." He grinned.

"Go for a walk?" I shrugged, nodding as I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Yeah, we could do that." We started for the door, when Julie and Ginny walked up to me, grabbing my arm.

"Krysten—"

"You'll never guess—"

"Who just asked me to the ball!" I raised an eyebrow at Julie and frowned.

"Uh. . .who?" She was bouncing on the balls of her feet as she spoke.

"Well, when I-. . .oh! Draco, you look great in your dress robes, by the way!" He nodded, and I urged her to continue.

"Alright, alright, who asked you?" She giggled, covering her face with her hands.

"Harry!" I glanced at Ginny, raising an eyebrow at her, knowing she used to like Harry. She smiled.

"I'm going to the ball with Neville. He asked me yesterday." I nodded, wrapping my arms around Draco's waist, staring into his eyes.

"That's great you two but. . .Draco and I were just leaving." They both giggled and walked off to the Gryffindor table. I sighed, pulling Draco out the door and into the front hall. He sighed, glancing down the hall, and then at his clothes.

"Let's. . .let's go to the common room, and I'll change into some more. . .appropriate clothing. And then we'll go on our walk." We walked in silence, and when we reached the common room, he handed me the bouquet of flowers.

"Here, put these in water, take the silver flower out though. I'll go get dressed." I nodded, kissing him quickly before I turned and walked up the stairs to my room.

**~X~X~X~**

As we walked along the edge of the lake, hand in hand, I glanced up at his face.

"So. . .I'm wondering. . .why you made that big show of asking me to the ball. I kinda figured that your mum buying me my dress robes kinda meant we were going together." He smiled, looking down at our hands, our fingers interlaced.

"Well. . .let's see. . .first off, it was Blaise's idea, because I heard that some Slytherin girls were intent on asking me, to get the off my tail. Secondly, because I heard those Weasley twins saying I have no back bone, had to get that cleared up." I frowned, upset that neither one of the reasons had anything to do with me. He caught the look on my face and stopped, taking my face in his hands, stroking my cheeks.

"And thirdly, and most importantly. I wanted every man in this castle to know, that you are mine." I blushed furiously, leaning forward as he pressed his lips to mine. I stood on my toes wrapping my arms around his neck, kissing him furiously, not even noticing we were on the ground until he untucked my shirt from my skirt, and started to unbutton it. I pulled away, shaking my head.

"Draco, no." He moaned, kissing my neck, making me sigh in pleasure, though I was pressing my hands against his chest.

"Please, stop." Draco pulled away, hissing in my ear.

"Please, don't." I shook my head again, pushing harder, and he finally sat up, looking down at me, exasperated.

"Why not? Why the hell not?" I sat up, rebuttoning my blouse.

"Because. . .Draco. . .I'm just not r_eady_ for that. . ." He sighed, running his hand through his hair, staring out across the water. We sat in silence for what seemed like hours, before I looked up at him again.

"You're not. . .Draco, you're not mad at me, are you?" He shook his head, staring down at his hands.

"No. . .Not mad. . .never at you. . .just. . .frustrated is all." I paused, before moving closer, resting my head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He shook his head, wrapping his arms around me.

"Never be. Don't ever be sorry, not to me. There is nothing you could do, that would upset me. I love you." I blushed, staring down into the sand.

"I. . .I love you too." He sighed, turning his eyes to the sky.

"Well. . .let's get to bed. The ball's tomorrow. You need to get your sleep, if you're going to dance with me all night." He stood up, pulling me along, and we walked back to the common room. Several girls rushed up to me, Crabbe, Goyle and others up to Draco. I was flustered for a moment, until Draco shouted out above the noise.

"Beat it, you blood thirsty vultures! Can't I get a minute alone with her without you all hovering about?" It took seconds for the common room to clear out, and then Draco pulled me into his arms, kissing me softly.

"Well. . .I guess with that going on. . .we could always sleep down here." He picked me up, carrying me to the couch and laying down, holding me to his chest. He sighed, stroking my hair.

"Goodnight, love." I smiled, kissing his neck before closing my eyes.

"Night, my dragon."

**~X~X~X~**

I groaned, watching as Hermione used her wand to create intricate curls in my hair, using a pinning charm to pile all my hair on top of my head. She paused, and then grabbed my silver rose off of my dresser.

"Shall we put this in your hair?" I contemplated the idea quietly and then nodded. She slipped the stem through the bunch of curls, and used a sticking charm to keep it there. I admired her work and then sighed.

"Time to get into my robes." Ginny nodded, moving from her spot on my bed to the closet, pulling out my robes and handing them off to Hermione who expertly unzipped the back and eased the dress over my head. I sighed as the fabric hung delicately to the ground, smiling at myself in the mirror. Julie walking then, going through her purse, glancing up at me.

"You look great. . .yeah." I sighed, switching out the earrings I was wearing for the ones Draco had given me, and then sighed.

"I guess. . .I'm all ready." Hermione smiled, slipping her wand into her purse.

"As am I. Let's go ladies." We rushed down the stairs, and to the door out of the common room into the hall, where Harry, Neville, Draco and Krum were waiting. Draco was facing away, staring down the stairs, when Harry reached out, smacking his arm.

"Hey." Draco stiffened, turning slowly to look at me. He smiled brightly, his eyes sparkling, He rushed towards me, pulling me into his arms.

"You look beautiful." He looked at my hair, admiring the rose, making me blush.

"It was Hermione's idea to put it in my hair." Draco nodded, kissing me softly.

"And a brilliant idea it was." He sighed, glancing at the other girls with their dates.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to take my girlfriend to the ball." Winking once, he took my hand, and led me to the Great Hall, which had been decorated with long sicles of ice, and Christmas trees that almost touched the high ceiling. Draco and myself, along with Neville and Ginny, pushed our way through the crowd. Minutes later, the first song started, the Champions and their dates twirling out onto the dance floor. Ginny and I watched as Harry and Julie danced, her head on his chest. Harry was speaking quietly to her, and Draco chuckled.

"Wonder what Potter's saying. Probably asking if she could pretend to be his date for a bit longer." I rolled my eyes, stomping down on his foot, making his eyes water.

"Stop that." He pulled me to his chest and twirled the two of us out onto the dance floor, whispering into my ear.

"Stop what? Loving you unconditionally? Never." I sighed, kissing his neck, before relaxing in his arms, my head on his chest.

"Love you, Malfoy." He chuckled, stroking my hair.

"Love you too, MacNair."

**~X~X~X~**

I stood shocked, staring down onto the pitch. Harry and Cedric had just reappeared with the Goblet, and it took everyone a moment to register that Harry was crying over Cedric's body. I froze rushing towards the railing. I'd never been close to Cedric, but he was still a friend.

"Ce-Cedric!" Several other girls screamed in the next stands over.

"He's dead!" My eyes widened and I burst into tears. Draco pulled me into his arms, holding me as I sobbed into his shirt. Harry screamed from down on the grass.

"He's back! Lord Voldemort is back!" Draco's arms tensed around me, several Slytherins mumbling to each other. Draco whispered in my ear.

"It's okay. I won't let him near you." I couldn't contain my tears, so without another word, Draco pulled me up out of our seats, and out of the stands. When we were alone, he looked down at me, holding me away.

"What are you afraid of?" I sobbed, rubbing at my eyes.

"The Dark Lord is back! My. . .my dad! He turned his back, he could be killed!" Draco stood silent for a moment, and then kissed my hair.

"I'll talk to my father. He'll know what to do." He sighed, glancing towards the stairs we had just come down.

"Do you want to go back?" I shook my head, still shaking.

"N-no. . ." Draco glanced around, and then swept me up into his arms, carrying me up to the castle, to the common room, to his bed, where we laid down, and he held me, letting me cry myself out, for the rest of the night.

**~X~X~X~**

The next morning at breakfast, one owl landed between the two of us, one letter addressed to Draco, the other to me. I grabbed mine, reading it quietly.

"I'm going. . .my parents want me to leave school this morning. . .and go to America?" Draco glanced at my letter, and then back at him.

"Mine says. . .My parents are taking me out today. . .but I'm staying. . ." My eyes widened, anger building up inside me. _Who were they to tell me where I'd be safe? I'm safe wherever Draco can protect me!_ I folded my letter back up, glared at my food.

"I'm not going." He frowned, slipping his letter back into its envelope.

"Well. . .what are you planning on doing?" I bit my lip, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I just. . .Draco. . .can I stay with you? Please?" Draco was silent for a moment and then kissed my hair.

"I don't think it'd be safe. . .I don't. . .Krys, if the Dark Lord is back. . .he could show up at my home at any minute. . .and I don't want you to be there. . .America might be the best thing." I glared at him, gripping the sides of the table.

"Well. . .I won't go." I started to get up from the table, when Professor Snape walked up to me, glancing at Draco as well.

"I need to speak to the both of you. Immediately." We shared a glance and then stood up, following Snape to the dungeons. Once we were in his office, he turned to us, rolling up the sleeve of his left sleeve, revealing his Dark Mark, which was burning black in his skin.

"I'm sure the both of you understand what this means?" Draco nodded.

"Obviously. It means the Dark Lord is back." Snape nodded, his eyes narrowing.

"Don't get smart with me, Malfoy. This is serious." I frowned, glancing around the office.

"Professor. . . Have you. . .heard from our parents?" He nodded.

"Of course. Lucius contacted me not long after Potter and Diggory came out of the maze. _Your_ parents however, have asked me to keep you safe until they can come to take you home." I sat down, holding my head in my hands.

"They want me to go to America. But I can't leave! My friends are here, I can't just abandon them!" Snape glared at me for a moment, and then looked at Draco.

"Your mother is livid, and is demanding that I escort you to Malfoy Manor myself." I heaved a sigh, glaring up at him.

"And what about my parents? I refuse to leave England! I refuse to leave Draco!" Snape frowned, pulling out his wand, absently waving it through the air. I frowned.

"What was that?" He smirked.

"A silencing charm. You're raising your voice and I'd rather not have people listen in on our conversation." He paced the room, turning his wand between this fingers.

"I will speak to your parents. I cannot guarantee your staying in England, but I will try my best." He sighed, looking up when there was a sharp tap on the door.

"Severus!" Snape looked at Draco.

"You father." He waved his wand and the door opened, Mr. Malfoy crossing the floor, his can swinging in his hand.

"I've seen him! I've seen him, Severus, the Dark Lord is. . .what are they doing here?" He looked at us, and then back at Snape, who spoke calmly and quietly.

"I was speaking to them about the same dilemma you've come to discuss with me." Mr. Malfoy's eyes grew cold.

"They're just children."

"In a man's world, Lucius. There are some things, considering their position, that they need to know." Mr. Malfoy glanced at Draco, and then me, pausing on my face.

"Isn't it the choice of their parents, how much they should know?" I glanced between the two men, glaring at them.

"I want to know. Everything. I'm not leaving the country because some psychopath is intent on 'cleansing' the Wizarding world o—"

"Do not speak that way of the Dark Lord!" I looked up at Mr. Malfoy, my eyes narrowing.

"And why the bloody hell not? He's already killed innocent people! I don't care if my father is working for him or not. _I no longer have any respect for Lord Voldemort._" Draco reached out, clapping his hand over my mouth.

"He's not telling you to shut up for no good reason! The Dark Lord has eyes and ears everywhere, I'm surprised you've forgotten that!" I stared at him, shocked that he had raised his voice at me, but brushing it off quickly.

"Well. . .back to my point. I refuse to be afraid of someone I haven't even seen since I was a tot. I don't care what my parents say, I refuse to leave England!" Snape sighed, shaking his head.

"Ms. MacNair, you seem to misunderstand that since you are not of age, your parents are in charge of your whereabouts, not I or Mr. Malfoy. And complaining to us, is not going to change the wishes of your parents. I'm sorry." I bit my lip, looking at Draco.

"Draco. . .please." His eyes darted from Mr. Malfoy, to Snape, and then to the necklace around my neck.

"No." I started him, shocked.

"So you're just going t—"

"No. . .I won't let her leave England. I won't be able to take care of her if she leaves. I promised to take care of her and that's exactly what I'm going to do." He looked up at Mr. Malfoy.

"Father, there has to be something we could do." Snape was silent for a moment, before looking into my eyes, being met with my determination to be listened to.

"We'll take her. Hide her in Malfoy Manor. Draco can be her Secret Keeper, or I could, if he does not wish to." I bit my lip.

"But. . .I don't want to leave my family." Draco paused, before reaching out, pulling me into his arms.

"If you want to stay, and they're set on taking you from me. . .it's the only way."


	8. I'll Be Okay

I stroked Knight's fur, making him purr as he sat in my lap. Draco walked into the room, holding a stack of envelopes.

"More letters. Two more from your parents, one from each of the Weasleys, except Percy, one from Hermione, and one from Harry. And then your Hogwarts letter." He sat down next to me, setting the letters out on the bedspread.

"Granger and the Weasleys seem to be in the same place, all their letters were bundled up together. Potter's at his family home. . .and your parents. . .they've gone to Ireland." I looked up, my eyes blank as I grabbed the letters from my parents.

"They. . .they really left." Draco nodded, stroking my hair as I read the letters.

"My father's spoken to them. They refuse to cross the water until they find you. So, unless they start to think you're dead, they won't be very far." I sighed, raising an eyebrow when I saw that one of the letters from the Weasleys was open. I checked the name and frowned.

"Why'd you open Fred's letter?" He shrugged.

"I wanted to get the gist of the letters you were getting. Fred's just said that he thought you were being really stupid, and putting yourself in danger by running away. So I'm guessing that's what the rest of the Weasleys think as well." I sighed, reaching out for Hermione's letter, tearing it open.

"She's talking like there's nothing going on. . .something must be up wherever they are. She says that Dumbledore doesn't really want them writing. . .and that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley will be furious if they ever found out." I moved on to Harry's letter, afraid of what it might say. Draco caught the apprehensive look on my face, squeezing my hand.

"You don't have to read it if you don't want to." I nodded, breaking the seal.

"I really do." I skimmed Harry's letter, smirking when I saw it was the same as the last. Begging for information, to know where anyone was. To know if I'd heard from Dumbledore. I glanced at the Hogwarts letter, picking it up, but not opening it.

"So we're going back?" Draco nodded.

"We have to. Nothing of the Dark Lord has been confirmed, infact, some are calling Dumbledore and Potter complete nutters. I actually got a letter from Weasley a while back, he made a joke, about Potter being, 'The Chosen Nutter Who lived'. It was entertaining, but why he wrote to me, I have no idea." I nodded, glancing out the window.

"So. . .when do we go back. . .to school. I've lost track of the days." Draco sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Next week. My mum says she's going to buy our things today or tomorrow." I smiled slightly, looking up at him.

"Tell her I said thank you." He frowned, taking my hand.

"Why don't you? You haven't left this room since last month, please. Come to dinner. My parents miss you, even my dad asks if you're going to come down every night." I squeezed his hand slightly, keeping my eyes low.

"I'm hurting you. . .aren't I?" He shook his head, kissing my hair.

"Never. I'm just worried. You haven't been yourself since you made the decision to hide from your parents. Krys, I need to know that you're okay. . .ugh now why are you crying?" Draco wiped the tears away, the tears I hadn't noticed. He wrapped his arms around me.

"I want to keep the tears away. I'm going to protect you as best as I can, but I can't do that if you don't take care of yourself. So please. . ." He took my face in his hands, making me look up at him.

"Come to dinner, please?"

**~X~X~X~**

I walked down the stairs, in a pair of grey sweats, and a dark green sweatshirt of Draco's, the sleeves too long for me, but that didn't matter. As we walked down the hall towards the dining room, Draco slipped an arm around my waist.

"I know you miss your mum and dad, but my parents. . .they're more than happy to take you in. They love you." I nodded slightly, running my fingers through my hair.

"I know. . .thank you." We walked into the dining room, and Narcissa looked up at me, her smile genuine and warm, though she was careful with her words, speaking softly.

"Hello dear. How are you?" I sat down in the empty chair next to her, trying to smile.

"I'm. . .I'm better." Mr. Malfoy spoke, in a much kinder way than he had ever spoken to me before.

"That's good. We want you to be feeling fit and ready for school." I nodded, looking up when a house elf, one of the ones that had served me in my room, ran up to Mr. Malfoy.

"Master Malfoy, sir! Madame MacNair is not in her room! Pippin has searched for her everywhere sir, she's nowhere to be found!" Narcissa chuckled quietly, speaking to the elf.

"Pippin, it's alright, she's right here." The elf looked up at me, in shock, and then nodded.

"Pippin is glad to see the young mistress out of her room! If the young mistress needs anything, she may ask Pippin and he will be more than happy to serve her!" The elf bowed out of the room, while Narcissa smiled fondly after him.

"He's a good elf. I don't know what we're going to do when he passes on." I sighed, picking up my fork, picking at the chicken on my plate. I could feel Draco's eyes on me, watching me. A moment later he spoke.

"Eat, love. You need it." I nodded quietly, cutting off a small bit of the chicken, forking it into my mouth. I chewed silently, not looking up from my plate, until I heard Mr. Malfoy talking quietly to Narcissa. I stopped eating, trying to listen.

"I've heard. . .it's about the Department of Mysteries. The Dark Lord, he believes that there's an object in the Department of Mysteries, that will help him. . .destroy Potter." Narcissa was silent for a moment.

"Are you going to help him get it?" Mr. Malfoy sighed.

"Do I have a choice? I'm going down to the Ministry tomorrow, peek around. . .possibly sit in on Potter's trial." I looked up, curious.

"Harry has a trial? What for, Mr. Malfoy?" Draco smiled, pleased that I was getting involved. Mr. Malfoy smiled slightly.

"Call me Lucius, dear. It's really not so much a trial, as it is a hearing. He used magic outside of school, and in front of a Muggle. He insists that Dementors were attacking, and he was protecting his cousin. The Minister is still convinced that the Ministry has control over the beasts. Of course, Death Eaters know better." I frowned, nodding and cut off another piece of chicken.

"So. . .he might not be coming back to school this year?" He shook his head, taking a drink of his wine, making me surprised when I saw I had a glass too.

"Highly unlikely. The public might think he's mad, but he's still the Boy Who Lived. The hearing will come to a vote, and the majority vote will more than likely be to let it pass. And if Dumbledore shows like I except he will, Potter's almost-expulsion will never be mentioned again." I nodded, reaching out and grabbing the glass of wine, taking a sip, surprised at the fact that I enjoyed the taste, a soft cherry, with a thick raspberry aftertaste. Narcissa smiled, taking a bite of the white rice on her plate.

"How do you like the chicken dear?" I smiled, nodding quickly.

"It's delicious, thank you." Lucius smiled, raising an eyebrow at me.

"And, since you seem to enjoy it, the wine?" I glanced back at the glass, and then at him.

"I've never had wine before, but. . .it's. . .it's hard to describe it really. . .It's. . .wonderful. . .but a bit rich. I don't think I could have it every night with a meal." Lucius smiled, leaning forward in his seat.

"Tomorrow the elves will be serving white wine. I'd like you to try it, let me know what you think of the difference in the tastes." I nodded, taking another sip of the wine, meeting Draco's eyes, glad that he was smiling, a real smile at me, again.

"Of course. I'm looking forward to it. . .Lucius." Draco sighed, taking a drink of his wine, raising an eyebrow at his father.

"Father. . .is this. . .?"

"The wine your grandmother gave us at your Christening? Yes. In the elves opinion, it was perfectly aged, so I decided to bring it out for tonight." Draco nodded, taking a bite of his chicken.

"Well, they were right." Narcissa glanced at Draco and then at me.

"I know most people believe in walking before they learned to run, but, we don't really have time for baby steps." We all frowned, confused as to where she was headed with this. She looked at me and smiled.

"Would you like to go out with me to buy your school supplies tomorrow? Diagon Alley, maybe see some old friends?" I frowned slightly. _Old friends. . ? Oh right, I haven't responded to any letters since I left school. . ._ I looked up at Draco, and then nodded, tunring to Narcissa.

"That sounds like a good idea, Mum. Getting out. . .around. . .seeing the sun again." She smiled, and clapped her hands together.

"Excellent! I'll have the elves pick you out some nice shopping clothes, and we'll leave around noon, does that sound alright? We can have lunch while we're there." I nodded, trying the rice on my plate.

"It sounds perfect."

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, raising an eyebrow at Narcissa when we Apparated into Borgin and Burkes. She smiled slightly, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the shop.

"It's just because no one's ever there. Wouldn't want to risk landing on someone, heh." We quickly made our way up Knockturn Alley and out onto Diagon Alley, where she instantly became more relaxed.

"Now then, lunch first, and then shopping, or shall we get all of the supplies out of the way?" I thought about it as we walked and then sighed.

"Let's eat first, maybe we'll see some people that I know." Narcissa smiled and pulled me off to the nearest restaurant, clearly enthused that I was being sociable again.

**~X~X~X~**

Though I didn't see Harry, Hermione, or any of the Weasley's, I did bump into Julie once, smiling slightly when she told me she was still seeing Harry, and then brushed her off, saying that I needed to finish shopping. Narcissa wasn't very please, but, what was done was done, and Julie was already halfway down the street. Deciding to make a better effort, for Narcissa, when I saw Neville, I walked up to him, giving him a quick hug.

"How was your summer, Neville?" He eyed Narcissa for a moment, and then looked at me.

"It was alright. Spent it with my grandmother, as usual. How was yours, you didn't answer any of my letters." I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I know, and I'm sorry about that. . .I just. . .wasn't well this summer. All this rubbish with the Dark Lord just. . .took a toll on me, I guess." He nodded, a frown still on his face when he glanced at Narcissa. Neville lowered his voice.

"And why are you shopping with Malfoy's mum? Why aren't you with your parents?" I bit my lip, letting out a sigh.

"I. . .I ran away. My parents wanted to take me to America. . .I wouldn't go. They're in Ireland right now. Still trying to find me while staying out of the Dark Lord's reach." Neville's eyes narrowed.

"So you're staying with the Malfoys? Isn't that. . .almost as bad as live with. . .You Know Who?" I shrugged.

"They're perfectly nice to me, treat me like their own daughter. And as far as I know, no. . .no Death Eaters have been in the house since the Dark Lord returned." He glanced past me again and then sighed.

"So you really think they've changed?" I shook my head.

"Neville. . .being a Death Eater isn't something you can just stop doing. Trying could. . .Trying to turn your back on the Dark Lord could mean death." Neville was silent for a moment, and then raised an eyebrow at me.

"What about Professor Snape?" I paused, and then shrugged my shoulders.

"Not sure." He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So. . .they're still Death Eaters. . .are you sure it's safe for you to be there?" I nodded.

"Draco, and his parents, would never let anything happen to me. I have faith in that. . .you should too." He sighed, nodding slightly.

"Yeah. . .okay. . .I'm gonna be off, I'll see you at school." He looked past me, and tried to smile at Narcissa.

"Bye, Mrs. Malfoy." She nodded.

"Goodbye, Neville." He waved slightly and then turned, starting away from us. Narcissa walked to my side and smiled.

"He's a nice boy." She glanced down at the bags in her hands and sighed.

"Well, let's go to the apothecary, replenish your Potions kit, and then we'll head home." She smiled, taking my arm, and then started down the Alley.

**~X~X~X~**

When we returned home I went up to Draco's room, to find him sleeping, curled up on his bed. I frowned. _What is he doing sleeping this late?_ I paused before turning and walking down the hall, stopping when I came to a door that was hanging ajar. I peered in, finding that it was Lucius' study. He was sitting at the desk, reading a book, his feet up on a footstool beside him. I paused before opening the door the rest of the way and walking in.

"Um. . .Lucius, could I talk to you?" He peered up at me from the pages of his book, and then nodded, setting the book down in front of him.

"Yes, of course. How can I help you?" I frowned, quietly taking a seat in the empty chair in front of his desk, feeling very much like I was in the Headmaster's office, or something.

"Uh. . .is Draco alright? I've never seen him. . .sleeping in the middle of the day before." Lucius nodded, leaning back in his chair.

"He's fine. Just concerned about you, dear. You don't know you've been shouting out in your sleep, do you?" I shook my head, and he continued.

"He's been staying up with you. Every night. He's actually come to me, asking if returning you to your parents would be the best thing, but he always changes his mind later." I frowned, starting to speak, but he stopped me.

"Don't worry dear. Unless you choose to, he won't make you leave. He cares about you far too much to do that." I nodded, and stood up, starting for the door.

"Thank you. . .Lucius." He smiled slightly, and then nodded, dismissing me. I left the study and started back to Draco's room, smiling when I saw Pippin standing outside the door, knocking much too quietly to wake Draco up. I walked up to him, and he looked up at me.

"Pippin wants to bring young Master Malfoy his tea, but doesn't want to be rude and wake the young sir up!" I smiled, taking the tray from him.

"I'll take it to him, Pippin, thank you." Before he could speak another word, I opened the door and stepped inside, setting the tray on the desk in the corner. I walked to the bed, sitting down next to him, shaking his shoulder lightly.

"Draco, wake up." He groaned, rolling over.

"Mummy, noooo. I don't _want_ to!" I smiled, shaking him again.

"It's Krysten, you need to wake up." He bolted upright then, shaking his hair out.

"Are you alright?" I nodded, grabbing his cup of tea off the tray.

"Yes. I just brought you your tea. The elf was worried about waking you up. I'm not afraid of grumpy, sleep deprived Draco." He raised an eyebrow at me, taking the cup.

"Why do you say sleep deprived? I sleep in here with you every night." I smirked, shaking my head.

"From what your father tells me, you haven't been sleeping." Draco shook his head, taking a sip of his tea. I sighed, looking him in the eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me? About the screaming?" He frowned, staying silent.

"Telling you wasn't going to keep you from missing your parents." I sighed, taking the other cup of tea.

"I don't. . . .I do miss them. But I'm happy here with you. I want to be here. But you losing sleep over me, isn't going to do you any good." He nodded, smiling when I crawled into his lap. Draco wrapped his arms around me, kissing my hair.

"I know. I just. . .I get so worried about you. You know that." I smiled and kissed his neck.

"You worry _too_ much. Draco. . .you should never put your well being after me. You need sleep." He frowned, tightening his arms around me.

"I want to make the nightmares go away." I closed my eyes, relaxing in his arms.

"You do that just by being with me. I'll be okay."

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, glad to be back in the Great Hall, back at Hogwarts. I'd gotten a good shouting at from Professor McGonagall when she found out I was back, saying she was going to contact my parents, but I was fairly sure she was just blowing off steam. None of my Gryffindor friends would talk to me, except for Hermione, Julie and Harry (Harry mostly because Julie yelled at him to). All the Weasleys were mad, especially when they found out that I had run off with Draco for the summer. When Dumbledore announced the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, instead of listening to her speech, I turned to Draco, snickering quietly.

"Professor Umbridge looks like a bloody toad." He peered of my head and smirked.

"Got that right. She doesn't seem to fond of Dumbledore, I might come to actually like this teacher." I rolled my eyes, shaking my head.

"You're a prick sometimes, you know that Draco." He smiled, wrapping his arms around me.

"But you know you love me."

**~X~X~X~**

I walked down to the common room, clutching my hand, the stinging near unbearable. _Bloody Umbridge. A mad woman she is._ I walked into the common room and sat down on the couch, rereading the lines written on my hand, lightly running my fingers over them. I gasped in pain with I hit a tender spot, clenching my fist, my eyes watering. Suddenly, Draco was there, next to me.

"Are you alright?" I growled, glancing up at him.

"You thought you were going to like that vile Umbridge woman? Look at this!" I held my hand out to him, and he took it gingerly, staring wide-eyed at the words carved in my hand.

"What'd she do?" I glared at my hand, the skin burning.

"She gave me detention for defending Harry in class. Made me write lines with her 'special quill'." He read the lines and chuckled.

"'_I will not call Professor Umbridge a fowl faced harpy in class.'_ Wow you really said that? Nice one." I smirked bitterly, pulling my hand away.

"Yeah. . .she was being. . .just ridiculous. Saying everything about the Dark Lord was a lie. . .calling Dumbledore and Harry crazy, basically, and that they were lying to turn people against the Ministry." He nodded, taking my hand again.

"Are you alright, though? You could always have Madame Pomfrey take a look." I shook my head.

"No. . .don't want to give Umbridge the satisfaction." He frowned.

"Well. . .you need to do something with it, you can't just leave it like that." I shrugged, looking at my hand.

"I'll. . .see if Hermione knows something. She usually does." I stood up and sighed, starting for the door. Draco caught up with me, grabbing my arm.

"Do you want me to walk you?" I smiled, kissing him softly.

"In case you've forgotten, we're not allowed to be within one foot of each other." He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to his chest.

"Maybe I have forgotten." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I wouldn't want to get in trouble with the inquisitorial squad." I eyed the two badges on his chest, and he smirked, taking the smaller one off, sticking it in his pocket.

"I believe the squad can make an exception." He leaned down, kissing my neck, pressing me up against the wood door. I moaned, knotting my fingers in his hair. Draco paused, before sweeping me up into his arms, pressing his lips to mine.

"Will you let me this time?" I nodded, molding my lips against his.

"Y-yes." He pulled away, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Really?" I nodded, leaning in, sucking on his neck, leaving a large red hicky behind. Draco moaned, leaning his head back.

"E-excellent." He moved his lips back to mine, pushing the door to his room open, and closing it behind us.

**~X~X~X~**

I woke up, laying on Draco's chest. I sighed, loving the feel of his fingers stroking my back, running down my spine. He chuckled, continuing to run his hand over my back.

"And you made me wait five years for that? You're evil." I smiled, kissing his neck.

"Sometimes I have to be. I can't have Malfoys going around stealing my virtue all the time." He sighed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Well don't you ever hold out on me again. . .I hate to use a cliché but that was. . .magical." I nodded, glancing at my hand, which wasn't as red as it was before. Sitting up, I rolled off of Draco and started picking my clothes up off the floor.

"I'm surprised we weren't bothered." He chuckled, the blankets falling off his chest.

"I told you, the sock thing works." I pushed the door open slightly and reached out, pulling a dark green sock off the knob.

"You were serious." He smirked.

"I always am." I sighed, pulling on my clothes, glancing out the window.

"It's almost morning. . .I'm going. . .I'm gonna go freshen up. . .I'll see you at breakfast?" Draco nodded, falling back into his pillows.

"Heh, yeah, definitely."


	9. It's Not Going to Be You

I walked to the Gryffindor common room, figuring I might as well have Hermione look at my hand, my original plan before I was. . . distracted. I tapped on the fat lady's frame, and then door swung open, Ginny sticking her head out.

"Uh. . .Krys right now might not be—" There was a loud crash in the common room, "—the best time." I frowned, trying to look past her.

"Why not?" She glanced over her shoulder and then back at me.

"News travels fast." I frowned, finally understanding when I heard Ron shout from inside.

"That bloody git, MALFOY!" I froze, looking back at Ginny.

"How'd he find out?" She grimaced, flinching when something else broke.

"Parkinson thought it'd be really sticking it to you if she stopped by early in the morning. And of course, Ron was even more ticked off because he had just woken up." I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Should I talk to him?" She shook her head.

"I don't think so. . .he'd feel bad if he pulled his wand and asked questions later. Is there any other reason you stopped by?" I nodded, holding my hand out to her.

"I was wondering if Hermione knows anything that could help my hand." Ginny nodded.

"Well she did, but Ron threw that out the window ten minutes ago. Harry's got the same thing on his hand too." I sighed, shaking my head.

"Well. . .thank you. . .I guess I'll talk to him later." She nodded before going back into the common room, closing the door behind her. I stood there for a moment, until the fat lady spoke to me.

"It's best not to dwell on things dear." I nodded, before turning and walking down the hall, the stairs, to the Great Hall. When I walked in, half of the students at the tables turned to look at me, some of them shocked, others smug. I hurried forward, sitting down next to Draco, who raised an eyebrow at me.

"You're late." I clenched my fist on top of the table, breaking the scabs that had formed on my hand.

"Ron knows. Pansy told him." He was silent for a moment, and then sighed.

"Are you okay?" I shrugged, grabbing a roll, spreading butter on it.

"I've been better. My hand still hurts." Draco shook his head.

"I'm talking about Weasley. Do you want me to talk to him?" I shook my head.

"He'd pull a wand on you faster than you could say 'Dumbledore. He'll. . .get over it. . .I hope so."

I started to stand, when Professor Umbridge cleared her throat, and stood up, holding a piece of parchment. I rolled my eyes, sitting back down.

"Great, another decree." Professor Umbridge waited for the Great Hall to fall into silence before she spoke.

"From this day forth, all teams, groups, and clubs including more than three students will be disbanded." The Quidditch players, and some kids in the choir shouted out, the twins the loudest.

"That's rubbish!" She waited for the shouts to stop to continue.

"Anyone wishing to reform their clubs, may apply in my office, or through the Inquisitorial Squad." Murmurs spread across the hall, angry, confused, or just shocked. Draco smirked.

"Well. . .at least I know the Slytherin house team will be back up and running soon." I frowned.

"Why?" He grinned, glancing towards the staff table.

"Because. Half the team is on the Inquisitorial Squad." I rolled my eyes, shaking my head in disgust.

"I can't believe you would go along with that woman. After my hand." He turned his eyes to my hand, and then back to my face.

"I'm just. . .trying to stay in her good books. My father's idea." I shrugged, eating my roll.

"Whatever." I started to get up, when Hermione ran up to me, grabbing my arm.

"Let's talk." She pulled me away, running out into the hall. Hermione glanced over her shoulder, and then whispered to me, "Are you going to the next Hogsmeade weekend?" I shrugged, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I. . .I dunno. Probably." She frowned.

"Are you going with Draco?" I nodded.

"Yeah, most likely." Hermione stood silently for a moment, and then sighed.

"Would you be able to get away? We're having a meeting at the Hogs Head." I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why not the Three Broomsticks?" She shook her head.

"Too public. We can't be somewhere where the Inquisitorial Squad might find out." I nodded.

"Which is why Draco can't be there." Hermione nodded quickly, glancing towards the doors.

"Just be at the Hogs Head. Don't go anywhere else. As soon as we leave the school, start heading there, alright? It's important." I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What's it about?" She shook her head.

"You'll find out there. Just _don't bring any Slytherins."_ I nodded, starting back to the door.

"Yeah, yeah, alright." She grabbed my arm.

"I'm serious. If Umbridge finds out about this, we have ways of finding out who it was that snitched." I raised an eyebrow at her.

"What, you don't trust me anymore?" Hermione paused.

"Well. . .I mean. . .you spent a whole summer at the Malfoys' and. . .everything that's been in the paper about your dad. . ." I frowned.

"What's been in the paper about my dad?" She gaped at me.

"You haven't seen it? Krysten. . .there was a mass breakout at Azkaban. . .your dad was one of the ones that orchestrated it. . .he's working for the Dark Lord. . I thought you'd know." I stood there, silent for a moment.

"I thought. . .I thought they were in Ireland. . ." Hermione shook her head.

"No. They're not." I paused, before turning and walking back into the Great Hall, glaring at Draco.

"Why didn't you tell me they were back with the Dark Lord?" He frowned.

"What?" I lowered my voice, my eyes wide, scared.

"My parents! They're. . .they're with Voldemort. . .they helped with the breakout at Azkaban, why'd you lie?" He shook his head.

"I didn't I. . .my dad said they were in Ireland." I frowned, shaking my head.

"This is all getting too crazy for me."

**~X~X~X~**

The next weekend, Hogsmeade, I walked out of the gates, looking at Draco as we started getting closer to the buildings.

"I've got to go. Hermione has Ron pinned down somewhere so I could talk with him about. . .what he heard." Draco nodded, kissing my hair.

"Alright, love. I'll see you later." I nodded, and then started off towards the Hogs Head. I walked inside, Hermione, Harry and Ron looking up at me. Ron growled.

"What's she doing here? She's a Slytherin!" Hermione huffed.

"She's a friend, Ron!" I sat down with them, and looked at Harry.

"So, what am I here for?" He shrugged.

"She won't even tell me." I looked at Hermione.

"Well?" She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I was thinking. . .that. . .since Umbridge refuses to teach us. . .we need a real teacher. . .someone that will show us how to protect ourselves. . .someone who knows what they're doing." Hermione turned her eyes to Harry, who shook his head.

"Hermione, don't be crazy, I can't. . .I can't teach!" She pleaded with her eyes.

"But, harry, you've done so much! You could help us!" He rolled his eyes.

"Hermione, half the time, I didn't know what I was doing, and the other half was because someone helped me! Like you!" Ron sighed, grabbing Hermione's arm.

"I don't think we're going to be able to talk him into it." She glared at him, and then back at Harry.

"You're the only one who can! Other teachers don't want to get in trouble with the Ministry, and no one else can do the things you do! Harry, please!" He glanced between the three of us, and then sighed.

"Alright, look. We'll. . .see what the others have to say. . .I'll think about it." Hermione grinned.

"Well, we know that Julie's going to say yes. You girrrrlfriend." Harry rolled his eyes, a blush coloring his cheeks.

"Shut up." Ron smirked, crossing his arms over his chest, looking at me.

"And what about you? You going to bring Malfoy and his 'wand'?" I glared at him, sick of his crap, slamming my fist down on the table.

"You know what, Ron? Shove off! I know you fancy me, and it just ticks you off that I'd rather be with Draco than you! Get over yourself!" Hermione frowned.

"Krys, that's not—"

"No! No, he needs to hear this!" I stood up, glaring down at him.

"You're so self righteous you know that? Draco is nothing but perfect to me, but even though you snap at me _all the time_ you think you're so much of a better man than he is!" Ron paused, and then stood up, bellowing down into my face.

"At least _my_ parents aren't Death Eaters!" I bit my lip, tears pricking at my eyes.

"You. . .you know I can't help that." Hermione glanced between the two of us and sighed.

"Ron. . .that wasn't fa—"

"Well neither is what she's done! I've known her since we were kids, and she's still chosen that creep, Malfoy over me! _And_ she never told me about her parents!" I glared at him.

"Well maybe it's because I don't want to ruin our friendship! But you're doing a right good job of that yourself, Weasley." I looked at Hermione, tears streaking down my cheeks.

"I'll. . .i'll join the club, or whatever this is. . .but I'm not staying for any meeting." She nodded, handing me a piece of parchment, which I signed, and then turned, storming out of the pub without another word. I ran down the street, starting for the gates, when I heard Draco calling out for me.

"MacNair! H-hey!" I was about to turn, when I tripped over another student's foot and fell into the snow, bursting into tears which froze on my face faster than they were falling. Seconds later, Draco was at my side, holding me to his chest.

"Wh-what happened?" I sobbed into his shoulder.

"B-bloody WEASLEY! Ev-everyone knows about my parents. . .h-he hates me!" Draco sighed, standing up and holding me in his arms.

"I'm sorry. . .Do you want to go back up to the castle?" I nodded, rubbing at my nose.

"P-please." He sighed, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Alright, let's go."

**~X~X~X~**

I'd gone to several of the meetings of Dumbledore's Army, dodging Draco's questions, so he thought I was studying up with the Gryffindors all day. I sighed, looking up when the clock chimed. _Time for another meeting._ I stood up, and Draco looked up at me.

"More study time, eh? That's alright. Umbridge wants the Inquisitorial Squad to meet up with her right about now anyways." I nodded, grabbing my bag, and walking towards the door, where Draco met me.

"I'll see you later." I kissed him quickly, before turning and running off down the hall, towards the Room of Requirement. I passed where the door should be twice, smiling when it appeared and stepped inside. Hermione was already in the room, along with Harry, Ron, Julie, Luna, and Neville. All of them were practicing the Patronus Charm. I sighed, pulling out my wand, thinking of the happiest memory I had, one that made Ron extremely mad when I told him what it was.

"Expecto Patronum!" The white light erupted from my wand, and a silvery ferret burst forth, twining itself around everyone's ankles before disappearing. Harry nodded, a grin on his face.

"That was good!" I smirked, twirling my wand in my fingers as I walked deeper into the room.

"Thanks, 'Professor'." As more and more people showed, and the room started to get more crowded, Harry started looking around nervously. I walked up to him, frowning.

"What's wrong?" He did another turn and then looked at me.

"Cho's not here." I nodded, and started away, when there was a loud rumbling sound, coming from one of the glass walls. It shook the room, the chandeliers swinging above our heads. Ron frowned.

"An earthquake?" The was another, and the mirror shatter, falling to the ground, revealing a large crack in the stone wall. Harry shook his head.

"No, someone's found us!" He pointed his wand towards the doors which swung open.

"Everyone, run!" The kids closest to the door bolted for it, though some of the students more loyal to Harry stayed, trying to hide some of the things in the room. Collin Creevy walked up to the crack in the wall, peering through. He tensed, calling out.

"Harry it's—"

"Collin, move!" The wall blew out into the room, sending Collin flying back, lucky into the mats we were using for stunning. I covered my head as the rubble flew past, and then looked up, the Inquisitorial Squad running through the hole, grabbing anyone that was still in the room. I shouted out.

"Draco!" He turned to look at me, his eyes wide, and then Umbridge shrieked.

"Grab the girl!" I started to run, and I might have gotten away, if Crabbe hadn't snagged me, pulling me back to the group. Draco glared at him, pulling me from his arms, restraining me himself.

"Don't worry. . .I'll get you out of this." I shook my head, staring down at the floor.

"I'm not skipping out on my friends. It I get in trouble, that's fine." He stared at me in silence, and then looked at Umbridge, who was giving orders.

"Take them all to my office for interrogation!" The other members were dragged along roughly, while Draco tried to make it look like he was forcing me along, without hurting me. When we reached her office, she turned on us, her eyes wild.

"What is the meaning of this?" We sat in silence, and she sighed, pulling out her wand.

"I guess. . .the Cruciatus curse is the only way to loosen your tongues." She pointed her wand at me, and Draco tensed.

"You're mad. . ." She chuckled.

"Careful Draco, you wouldn't want to be involved in this now do you?" He fell silent, and she focused her eyes back on me.

"Now, Cru—"

"But it's illegal to use on a student!" Umbridge looked at Hermione, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, you're not giving me any answers otherwise." She turned back to me, and Hermione shouted out.

"IT's for Dumbledore!" The room fell silent, and Umbridge turned her eyes back on Hermione.

"Yes. . ?" Hermione nodded, jerking her arms away from Millicent Bulstrode.

"It was. . .he wanted us. . .he said, if anything happened to him, he needed someone who would know how to. . how to use the secret weapon." Draco drew in a sharp breath, pulling me closer to him. Umbridge huffed.

"And where is this secret weapon?" Hermione glanced at Harry.

"It's. . .it's hidden. . .but we could show you. . .where it is." Umbridge debated the offer for a moment, and then nodded.

"Yes, yes I think you should. Release them." Bullstrode and Goyle let go of their arms, and Umbridge gestured for them to leave the office, following closely behind them. Draco waited until he couldn't hear footsteps, to let go and turn me to face him.

"Why didn't you tell me about this! Was this what you were doing when you were 'studying'?" I glanced at Neville and Ginny, and nodding.

"Yes. Yes it was. And I didn't tell you, because. . .because I've had to give up a lot to be with you. . .I wanted my friends back." He paused, before turning his wand on Millicent, Crabbe, Flint, and Goyle.

"Stupefy!" He hit all four of them, shaking his head as they fell. Ginny raised an eyebrow at him, as he pointed his wand back at the bodies on the floor.

"Obliviate. . . Weasley, I hope you know I'm blaming you for this. Can't ruin my pristine image." She shrugged.

"Only if I get to do something I'll be proud of." She pointed her wand at him and smirked.

"Battyboogers!" Draco fell back against the wall, clutching at his wall.

"Dammit Weasley!" I rolled my eyes.

"Ginny, really?" She shrugged.

"It'd be a bit suspicious if Draco was the only one unattacked." Draco groaned.

"Ugh, just go!" I kneeled down, kissing his cheek, before standing and grabbing Ginny and Neville's hands, pulling them out of the room, Ron, Luna, and Julie following along after us. I sighed, bounding down the stairs.

"I sure hope Harry and Hermione know what they're doing!"

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, sitting in the Gryffindor common room.

"I can't believe. . .Sirius is really dead." Hermione glanced up the stairs to the boys' rooms.

"I hope Harry's okay. . .he was looking forward to going to live with Sirius. . .when this was all over. . ." I nodded, glancing towards the door.

"And now Umbridge is in St. Mungo's? Serves the old bat right." I sighed, shaking my head.

"At least we're all going home tomorrow." Hermione nodded, pulling out a book.

"Yup." I sighed, glancing at the clock.

"I'm gonna. . .I'm going to head off to bed. It's getting late. I'll see you all on the train tomorrow." I stood up, and walked down to the dungeons, into the common room, smiling slightly when I saw Draco sitting on the couch. I walked up behind him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Good evening, how are you." He tensed slightly, and then shrugged.

"I'm alright." I sighed, kissing his neck.

"You're not still mad are you?" Draco shook his head.

"Not mad. I'm confused. I want to know why you lied about studying? I may be a Malfoy, and apparently a snitch to some people, but. . .since it's you. . .I wouldn't have said anything." I stood there silent for a moment, and then walked around the couch, sitting down next to him.

"Have you seen Cho's friend's face? If I had said anything, I would look like that. Plus. . .they're all my friends, and they told me not to tell, anyone. And they made a big deal about me not telling you. It had nothing to do with you. I would have told if I could, you know that." He was silent for a moment, and then nodded, kissing my hair.

"Yeah. . .alright." Draco was silent for a moment, and then sighed.

"I'm going to work for the Dark Lord." I frowned.

"What? Why?" He tightened his arms around me.

"He needs eyes in the school. And since my dad is so important to him, I was his first choice." He bit his lip.

"Do you. . .do you want to come with me?" I was quiet, for a long time, and then looked up at him.

"Draco. . .I can't. . .my parents worked so hard to keep me away from him, I can't go back." He nodded, stroking my hair.

"I saw the answer coming. I'd rather you didn't anyways. If anyone's going to Azkaban, it's not going to be you." I frowned, clutching at his shirt.

"I don't want it to be you either." He nodded.

"It won't be. . .I might be gone for a week this summer. . .is that okay with you?" I looked up at him.

"I'm still allowed to stay at the Manor?" He nodded again.

"Of course. If I'm doing this, I wouldn't want you anywhere else." I paused, before standing up, stretching my arms out.

"I'm going to pack my trunk and then go to bed. I'll see you on the train tomorrow, alright?" He stood up, catching my arm.

"Are we okay?" I frowned, shocked he would have to ask.

"Yes. We're fine." He nodded, pulling me to his chest, and kissed me with a ferocity that scared me. Like this might be his last chance to be this close to me. I sighed, kissing his neck before pulling away.

"I'll see you in the morning, my Dragon." He nodded, a smile back on his face.

"Yeah. Goodnight, love."


	10. He's Not a Patient Man

I rolled my eyes, arguing with Draco as he kissed my neck, trying to hold me off.

"How can you not remember the charm?" He huffed, his wand in one hand, my wrists in the other.

"A contraception charm isn't exactly main stream in Hogwarts classes, alright?" I glared up at him, my breathing heavy.

"I thought you got it from Madame Pomfrey!" he slammed his wand down on the bedside stand.

"I did! But I forgot!" I bit my lip, and then moaned, pressing my lips against his.

"Ugh, just forget it!" He pulled away, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Really?" I moaned, raking my fingers down his back.

"Yes, _please,_ just do it!" He glanced towards the door, and then nodded.

"O-okay." He crushed his lips against mine, as he reached down, jerking off my pants and underwear, grinding his pelvis against my own. I moaned again gritting my teeth.

"Draco! _Yes. . ."_

**~X~X~X~**

I rolled off of Draco, my thighs wet and sticky as I curled up on my side. He raised an eyebrow at me, a grin on his face.

"You okay?" I nodded, kissing his collar bone.

"Perfect." He glanced at the clock on the wall and groaned.

"Dammit. . .I've got to go." Draco started to get up, but I pulled him back, crushing my lips against his.

"A shower first?" He bit his lip, glancing from me to the door.

"Uh. . .a quick one, love, and then I have to clear out." He scooped me up into his arms and carried me to his restroom, starting the shower.

"The elves will take care of the sheets while we're in here, then you can go back to bed." I blushed at thought of someone, even just an elf, cleaning up after us. He grinned, pulling me into the shower.

"Don't worry. They won't say anything." As the warm water cascaded down over her skin, Draco pulled me close, covering my neck with soft, tender kisses. I sighed, tilting my head back so it was resting on his shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you." He nodded, running his fingers through my hair.

"I'll be there when you get to school, I promise." I was quiet for a moment, listening to the sound of the water hitting the tiles, and then looked up at him.

"Do you really—"

"Yes. I have to go meet him. I'll be alright. My father's loyal to him, he won't raise a hand against me." I shook my head.

"Draco. . .you don't. . .he's the Dark Lord! You don't know what he would and wouldn't do!" He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tighter.

"I'll be safe. I promise. I wouldn't go if I thought I'd be in any danger. Just trust me." I sighed, turning in his arms.

"Just promise you'll come back." He nodded, kissing my forehead.

"I always will." Draco reached down, turning off the shower. He grabbed us both a towel, leaving his on the floor as he wrapped one around me, patting me dry. He tied his around his waist, and then kissed me softly.

"Go back to bed. Be down at breakfast in the morning, or my mum will get worried." I nodded, following him back into the bedroom, smiling slightly when I found a set of silk pajamas sitting on the bed. He smirked.

"Told you the elves would take care of it." He walked into his closet, dropping his towel as he went. I changed into the pajamas, not bothering with underwear, and sighed, sitting down crosslegged on the bed. Moments later, he came back out, dressed in a plain black suit. He walked up to me, kissing my hair.

"Stay beautiful." I smiled, watching him leave, and then crawled under the blankets, falling asleep almost immediately.

**~X~X~X~**

I woke up the next morning, instantly saddened by the empty space in the bed, but got up and walked down to the parlor, not bothering with changing out of my pajamas, which I couldn't see in the dark, but they were a pale, mint green. When I entered the room, I found Narcissa sitting on the same love seat I had been sitting with her on the first day I came here, and across from her on the ottoman, was Bellatrix Lestrange. I froze, glancing between the two. Narcissa smiled slightly.

"Come now, dear, she's joining us for breakfast." I nodded, sitting down next to Narcissa, picking up my cup of tea, sipping quietly. She raised an eyebrow at me and grinned.

"So. . .how was your night?" I blushed furiously.

"Ah. . .it was fine. I'm going to miss Draco while he's gone." Bellatrix laughed, almost cackled.

"I'm sure you will. So, how was the little brat?" I blushed deeper, and Narcissa glared at her.

"Bella! Please!" Bellatrix shrugged, taking a drink of her tea.

"It was a simple question. Anyhow, you must be so proud Cissy, your bouncing baby boy, finally joining the Dark Lord's forces." Narcissa grimaced, taking a tart from the tray on the table.

"Not particularly. But he wants to fight, and there's nothing I can do to stop him." I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. Narcissa looked at me and smiled.

"Are you alright with this, though? I know Draco wouldn't want you to be upset." I nodded, setting my tea down on the tray.

"So long as he doesn't. . .die. If he gets injured in anyway, that's when I'm telling him he needs to stop this." The room was silent for a moment, and then Bellatrix spoke.

"I love those nighties by the way." Narcissa chuckled, quietly, and then I laughed.

"Uh. . .thank you. . .Draco picked them out." She nodded.

"Of course. Cissy, that boy of yours has exquisite taste in clothing and accessories. I must say, if he wasn't my nephew, I would hire him to be in charge of my wardrobe." She sighed, glancing towards the clock.

"Oh! I must go. I'll see you later Cissy. Krysten." We both nodded, and then she stood, Disapparating on the spot. We sat in silence for a moment, eating, when Narcissa looked at me.

"Are you sure you're alright with this?" I nodded, setting my tea down.

"If it's what he wants to do, I can't stop him." She sighed, her eyes disappointed.

"I was hoping you would talk him out of it." I shook my head, taking her hand.

"Mum, I've tried. He's. . .he's determined to do this. There's no going back." Narcissa nodded, biting her lip.

"I suppose. . .well. . .dear, go get dressed. We still need to go get your books for this year." I nodded, standing up, giving her a quick hug, before turning and walking back to Draco's room. I felt for Narcissa. She's had to give up both of her boys to this war. Her sister as well. She just wanted her family home and safe. I walked into Draco's closet, changing into a plain, dark green dress, pulling a black cloak on over it. I slipped on a pair of black slippers and walked out into the hall, and down the stairs to where Narcissa was waiting for me in the front hall. She smiled.

"We'll get through this. It'll be okay." I nodded, and she took my hand, spinning on the spot, taking us both to Diagon Alley.

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, pacing the parlor on the last night before I left for school. Narcissa watched me, smiling slightly.

"Dear, it's alright. Lucius sent me an owl, Draco is all set for school, and won't shut up about seeing you." I smiled, wrapping my arms around my torso.

"Really?" She nodded, pushing open the door into the hall.

"Yes. You should go to bed, you'll see him faster that way." I nodded, kissing her cheek before turning down the hall, and returning to Draco's room.

**~X~X~X~**

I stood on the platform, hand in hand with Narcissa, craning my neck to see over the other students.

"Do you see him yet?" She shook her head, looking around.

"No. . .I. . .there! There he is!" I spun around and saw him talking with Crabbe and Goyle, looking angry. I called out across to him.

"Draco!" He glanced back at me, waved once, then suddenly grabbed his left wrist and turned away. Narcissa frowned, and then wrapped an arm around me.

"Just. . .get on the train dear, he'll come see you when he can." I paused, and gave her a quick hug, before turning and getting on the train, pulling my trunk behind me.

**~X~X~X~**

I groaned, curled up on the seat in a compartment with Hermione, Ron and Harry. Hermione raised an eyebrow at me.

"You okay?" I shrugged.

"I don't know. . .I must have caught a bug. This is the first time the train ride's ever really bugged me." Harry frowned, and looked up when he saw Draco pass the door, clutching his left arm. He started to speak, when Hermione scoffed.

"Oh, Harry, _please_, don't start with that again." Harry rolled his eyes.

"I was going to ask if Krysten thought Malfoy was looking for her." Ron smirked.

"But since we're talking about Harry's idea, let's see what Malfoy's darling has to say." He looked at me.

"Is Malfoy a Death Eater?" Hermione smacked his arm.

"Ron!" I shrugged.

"I don't know. He would tell me if he was." Hermione looked at the two of them with a smug grin.

"See? I told you." Ron started to argue, when the door slid open, and a Hufflepuff stuck his head into the compartment.

"Harry, Hermione. Professor Slughorn wants to see you in his compartment, right away." Harry frowned.

"What about Ron?" The boy shook his head.

"No, just you two." Harry and Hermione shared a glance, before standing up and leaving the compartment, closing the door behind him. Ron glanced at me, and then out the window, sighing.

"So why aren't you with your precious Malfoy?" I shrugged, leaning against the wall.

"He's busy." He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Too busy for hi—"

"Hey there, love." Draco slid the door open, stepping inside, plopping down on the seat next to me. He kissed my hair, pulling me into his arms.

"So, how are you? How were you while I was away?" I smiled, resting my head on his chest.

"I'm brilliant. I think I've caught a bug or something though. . .Oh! And I had breakfast with your aunt about a week ago." He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Dromeda or—"

"Or." He nodded, understanding my response and then sighed.

"I'm sorry I brushed you off on the platform. Crabbe and Goyle were acting like idiots." I shook my head, kissing him quickly.

"It's fine." I leaned in, whispering into his ear.

"You know. . .I can't help but think about that last night before you left." I smiled as a faint blush colored his face, and Ron groaned.

"Disgusting." He stood up and left the compartment, slamming the door behind himself. Draco was silent for a moment, before he sighed, leaning, kissing my neck. I bit my lip, turning to kiss him.

"I missed you too, but a replay might not be very wise until we get to the dorms." He moaned, nipping and sucking as he moved down to my shoulder.

"Are you sure?" I shuddered, a chill running down my spine that had nothing to do with his cool fingers slipping under my shirt.

"A-Absolutely." He sighed, his cool breath raising goosebumps on my skin.

"As you wish, my princess."

**~X~X~X~**

I walked to breakfast, concerned after waking up to find that Draco had already gone. Blaise looked up at me as I sat, and smiled.

"Draco was her earlier. Grabbed an apple and left. He told me to tell you good morning for you, and that he loves you." I grinned, sitting down, and pulled the pitcher of orange juice towards me, pouring myself a glass.

"Thank you." He grinned, reaching into his pocket.

"And he also told me to give you this, but to tell you not to open it, until you met him up in the Owlery in ten minutes." Blaise handed me a small, square velvet box.

"You'd better get going. Draco is not a patient man." I raised an eyebrow at him and, clutching the box, left the Great Hall and ran up the nearest stairs, all the way up to the Owlery. When I came to the door, the first thing I noticed was that to floor was swept completely clean. I started into the room, when I heard a creak in the rafters above, and then Draco landed in front of me, smiling the toothy grin that I loved. He pulled me into his arms, and kissed me, before kneeling down, taking the box into his hands, and lifting the lid to reveal a ring, a large emerald, encased in an intricate cage of silver. Draco took my hand in his, kissing it softly before looking up at me.

"MacNair. . .I've known you, my entire life. And not once, have I seen you more beautiful, than when you're wrapped in my arms, smiling like you think yourself the luckiest girl in the world." He chuckled quietly. "And don't think me conceited, because you know it's true." I laughed quietly, tears streaking down my cheeks. He smiled.

"Come on, don't cry. You'll. . .you'll make me cry, heh." His voice cracked, and he kissed my hand again.

"So. . .I've spent entirely too much on a ring, and have most likely bankrupted my family, to ask you to be my wife." I bit my lip, sobbed quietly, and then nodded.

"Y-yes. . .yes!" He stood, sweeping me up into his arms, crushing his lips against mine.

"You have no idea how happy this makes me." Draco pulled away, taking my left hand, and slipped the ring on my ring finger, kissing it, before taking my face gently in his hands, kissing me softly, sweetly, but with more love than he had ever kissed me with before.


	11. Father

Draco sighed, kissing my forehead.

"You should get to class." I frowned, looking up at him.

"What about you?" He shrugged.

"I've got some work for. . .the Dark Lord." I nodded, glancing at his arm.

"Do you have. . .you know. . " He nodded, rolling up his sleeve. I looked at the tattoo, that was just as majestic as it was horrible. I shuddered, and he pulled his sleeve back over it.

"You never have to see it if you don't want to." I nodded, kissing his neck.

"Y-yeah. . .thank you." Draco kissed my hair and then sighed.

"Go on. I'll see you at lunch, love." I nodded, kissing him quickly, before throwing my bag over his shoulder and rushing down the steps to Transfiguration.

I took a seat next to Hermione, and about ten minutes into the class, she tapped on my shoulder. I looked at her, and she pointed to my hand, hissing at me.

"Is that what I think it is?" I bit my lip, and then nodded. Hermione started to squeal, but she clapped her hands over her mouth, though she still earned herself a warning glare from McGonagall. She grabbed my hand, tilting it to see the ring at different angles, to see it sparkle.

"When did he ask?" I smiled.

"Just before class. Up in the Owlery." She sighed, holding her head in her hands.

"That's so romantic. . .am I allowed to tell people about it?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"I never thought you to be the gossiping type, Granger." She rolled her eyes.

"Sounding like a Malfoy already. But, Krysten this is big! You're probably the only one in this year. . .no, at Hogwarts that's engaged to be married!" She suddenly stopped talking, a frown crossing her face.

"It's not. . .not a shotgun wedding is it?" I frowned.

"What's a shotgun wedding?" Hermione smirked.

"Oh, right, Muggle term." She glanced around the room, to make sure no one was listening.

"It's not. . .you two aren't getting married because you're. . .you're pregnant, are you?" My voice shot up two octaves, and multiplied three times in volume.

"WHAT!" Professor McGonagall rushed up to us, her eyes furious.

"Ladies! If you conversation is so upsetting, I'll ask you to take it out into the hall." I sat there, staring down at the book we were supposed to be reading, and then jumped up, clapping my hands over my mouth.

"I think I'm going to be sick!" I ran out the door, hearing Hermione speaking to McGonagall.

"I'll go check on her." I bolted into the nearest bathroom, locking myself into a stall before tossing my breakfast down the U-Bend.

**~X~X~X~**

Hermione tapped on the bathroom stall, her voice concerned.

"Krysten? Maybe you should go see Madame Pomfrey about the bug of yours. It's clearly getting worse." When I finally answering, my voice was shaky.

"Hermione. . .what if I. . .what if I am. . .pregnant?" She was silent for a minute.

"You. . .were you two safe?" I bit my lip.

"Not the. . .not the last time." Hermione gasped, and I heard a rustle of fabric.

"Alohamora!" The stall's door swung open, and she grabbed my arm.

"We're taking you to the hospital wing, right now." She made me stand up, pulling me out into the hall. When Professor McGonagall saw us pass the door, she came out into the hall.

"Miss Granger, is she alright? She looks rather green." Hermione glanced at me, and then back at McGonagall.

"Just a bug, Professor. I'm going to take her to the hospital wing to see if Madame Pomfrey can help." She nodded, walking back into the classroom.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. I hope you get well, Miss MacNair." We waited until the door closed to start walking down the hall. Hermione sighed.

"Do you have any idea how reckless that was? Why wouldn't you use protection!" I sighed, running my fingers through my hair.

"We. . .Draco couldn't remember the contraceptive charm!" She sighed.

"And you couldn't use a condom?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's that?" She rolled her eyes, turning the corner.

"Blasted Wizard knowledge." Hermione pulled the doors to the hospital wing open, pushing me in. She followed me, calling into the room.

"Madame Pomfrey?" The Healer stuck her head out of her office and frowned.

"Yes?" Hermione glanced at me and sighed.

"Can we speak to you? It's important." I bit my lip.

"I'd really rather talk to Draco about this first. . ." Madame Pomfrey stepped into the room, frowning.

"What is it?" Hermione sighed.

"I think she's—"

"It's nothing I'm—"

"—Pregnant." Madame Pomfrey frowned, shaking her head.

"Second in this year. Alright, let me go get the potion." She started to walk away, and I frowned.

"What potion?" She turned back to me.

"An Abortion Draught, obviously." She started off again, but I called out.

"N-no!" They both looked at me, and Hermione let out an exasperated sigh.

"Krysten, you can't be serious." I bit my lip, staring down at the floor.

"It's. . .it's his baby too." Madame Pomfrey glanced between us, and then sighed, grabbing a piece of paper off her desk and signing it.

"Well, I'm going to give you this. It's a pass that excuses you from Potions. Potions isn't the best place for a pregnant girl to be. Not safe for the girl, or the baby, should you decide to keep it." My jaw dropped.

"But I _need_ Potions! I can't get any kind of good job without it!" She shrugged indifferently.

"You also can't get any kind of good job being a teen mother, consider that, Miss MacNair. Now, the pass will also excuse you from Defense Against the Dark Arts, if you so choose, and Herbology on days when you're working with dangerous plants. Alright?" I nodded, taking the pass and slipping it into my bag.

"Yes. . .thank you." I grabbed Hermione and pulled her out of the hospital wing into the hall.

"Ugh, I can't believe you did that! Now the entire staff is going to be talking about me! And then some student is going to hear and tell EVERYONE!" Hermione shrugged.

"Maybe it'll teach you something." I groaned.

"WHAT? What, Hermione, could this POSSIBLY teach me?" She glanced over my shoulder and smirked.

"How to talk about uncomfortable subjects with your fiancé." I frowned.

"What?" Suddenly, a pair of arms slipped around my waist, and Draco was speaking into my ear.

"I heard you got sick in class. Feeling any better?" I glared at Hermione, and then turned to Draco, a soft smile on my face.

"Uh. . .we need to talk." He frowned.

"About what, love?" I bit my lip, taking his hand and pulling him down the hall.

"About. . .the bug that I caught. . .and what that entitles." Draco raised an eyebrow at me.

"Meaning. . ?" I sighed, deciding just to get right to the chase.

"Remember. . .how we couldn't remember. . ._the charm?_" He nodded. I was silent for a moment.

"Draco. . .I think I might be. . .p-pregnant." He stood there without saying anything, and then pulled me into his arms.

"Are you okay?" I shrugged, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"I feel. . .I don't even know. . .kinda. . .afraid I guess." He tightened his arms, kissing my hair.

"You don't. . .you don't need to be. I'll be with you through it all." My eyes widened when I realized tears were streaking down my cheeks. I wiped them away quickly, but he noticed anyhow. Draco took my left hand, running his thumb over my ring.

"Do you know what this ring means? It means. . .It means that I'm going to stay by your side no matter what. Nothing is going to tear us apart, okay?" I nodded, kissing him softly. He glanced down the hall and sighed.

"Let's. . .let's get you to the common room. Get you some rest. I'm done working on things for today." I smiled, leaning into his arms as he guided me down the hall and down the stairs, not removing his arms from around me until I was sitting on the couch. He sighed.

"Are you hungry? Need anything?" I sighed, curling up on my side.

"No. . .I'm okay. . .just kinda tired now." He paused, before kneeling down next to my head.

"I'm really. . . You're not mad at me, are you?" I smiled, reaching out to stroke his hair.

"Never. . .honestly. . .I'm. . .happy. . .excited to be having your baby." He smiled brightly, lightly grabbing my wrist.

"Really?" I nodded, pulling his hand closer and kissing his wrist.

"I can't think of anyone else I rather have a baby with." Draco raised an eyebrow at me.

"Not even Weasley?" I laughed, leaning forward to kiss him.

"Not even Weasley."

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, walking down the hall, people staring at me. Draco was off working on his 'secret project' so during the day, I was left to fend for myself. Ron was always busy, Quidditch practice, so he couldn't help. And even Harry was gone most of the time, in Dumbledore's office. I walked into the library, setting my bag down, and putting my feet up on a chair. This was my usual hour for Potions, but of course, I couldn't go to that class. I pulled out a book, slowly losing interest, my eyes drifting to my clothes. I smiled slightly, thinking of Narcissa who, after finding out she was going to be a grandma, sent me every maternity clothing item she had from when she was pregnant with Draco.

Today I was wearing a long, lavender dress, with a black sash that tied just below my bust. I wore my school cloak over it, so the teachers had no reason to complain. I started to reach for another book, when Neville walked into the aisle I was sitting in and waved.

"Oh, hey Krysten. How are you today?" I shrugged.

"I'd be better if my fiancé was around more, but other than that I'm fine." He nodded, sitting down next to me.

"What about the baby?" I smiled, rubbing my hand over my enlarged abdomen.

"She's great. Moves around a bit. . .gives Mummy some problems, but other than that, she's perfect." Neville grinned.

"So it's girl?" I nodded, my smile widening.

"Yes. I found out last week, isn't that exciting?" He nodded, wringing his hands.

"Uh. . yeah. . .Krysten. . .I just. . .wanted to let you know that. . .I might not be as brave. . .or as smart as Harry, or Ron, or Malfoy, but if you need it, I'll always be around to help. . .if you need it." I smiled, throwing my arms around his neck, giving him a hug.

"Thank you Neville. I really appreciate that." He nodded, pulling away.

"Well. . .I've got to get back to class. I'll see you and. . .uh. . .have you thought of a name yet?" I smiled.

"Isabella, actually." Neville smiled.

"That's pretty. Well, I'll see you around." I nodded, and watched him get up and leave before sighing. _Alone again. . ._ I shuffled absently through some papers in my bag and then stood up, walking out into the hall and starting for the common room. I passed a young girl, probably a first year, who was trying to manage an armful of scales, when the large door she was standing by swung open and hit her, knocking her to the floor. I started forward to help, when Draco came storming out of the room, his hair frazzled. He glared at the girl.

"Goyle, quit being an idiot, and get up!" I frowned, raised in eyebrow at him.

"Draco?" He spun around and looked at me, pausing for a split second, and then smiled.

"Hi. How's your day been?" He started towards me, and I held a hand out to him, stopping him.

"It would have been a hell of a lot better if you weren't off playing. . .whatever this is—" I waved my hand towards 'Goyle' and the door, "—All day. Everyday." He nodded, nudging my hand out of his way and pulling me into his arms.

"I know. . .and I'm sorry." I sighed, grabbing his left arm.

"I just wish you could take some more time for me. . .and Isabella too." Draco smiled slightly, kissing my hair.

"I-I know. . .I'm gonna try, I promise." I sighed, pulling up his sleeve and staring at the tattoo.

"You said that last week too, you didn't even go to my doctor's appointment." He was silent for a moment, stroking my hair. When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry." He glanced over at Goyle and sighed.

"Get lost. Tell Crabbe it's his turn tomorrow." Goyle nodded and started off down the hall. I bit my lip.

"Draco. . .can't you take a day off? Tomorrow's a Hogsmeade weekend, and I really want to go." I pleaded with my eyes, and after a moment, his face broke into a smile.

"You know I can't say no to those gorgeous eyes." Draco kissed me quickly, and then started towing me off down the hall.

"Now. . .I don't know if mum has written to you or not, but she has started on a nursery and she demands that we tell her the gender of the baby, though she knows we want to surprise her." I smiled, wrapping my arm around his waist.

"Well. . .I guess she can just get the surprise now." He grinned.

"Excellent! I'll go get some parchment and write to her right no-." He caught the slightly angry look on my face and chuckled nervously.

"I mean. . .I'll. . .do it on my own time?" I nodded, making him laugh as he kissed my hair.

"You're so beautiful, and yet can be completely terrifying whenever you want to be." I laughed, leaning into his arms as we started down the stairs into the dungeons.

"Comes with the whole pregnant lady thing." Draco pulled me down onto the couch, wrapping his arms around me.

"So, given any more thought about the wedding?" I shook my head, running my hand over my stomach.

"No, I've been too busy hiding this from the press." He raised an eyebrow at me.

"And why should the public not know of our extreme joy?" I smiled, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Because. . .then my parents will know I've been with you this whole time—"

"And haven't died!"

"Yes, and haven't died. . .but. . .still. . .they'd be angry at Lucius and Narcissa and I don't want that." He sat quietly for a moment, and then smiled.

"So, how about, when school lets out, and we get home, we have a coming of age party for the two of us, that can also serve as a baby shower and bridal shower for you." I raised an eyebrow at him, knowing what a party entailed.

"Really? And I can invite all my friends?" He shrugged.

"Sure." I frowned.

"Even Harry? Without having to worry about him?" Draco was silent for a moment, and then sighed.

"That, I can't guarantee. . .knowing the Dark Lord he'd want to stop by to give his 'blessing'." I tensed.

"I don't want him anywhere near our baby." He nodded and sighed.

"Yeah. . .yeah alright." I started to speak, when he hissed in pain, and grabbed his left wrist. My eyes widened.

"What's wrong?" He jumped up, pulling out his wand.

"I've got to go. . .head to the Gryffindor common room. . .have your wand out, protect yourself if you have to. . .just go." He pulled me up to my feet and we started for the door.

"Draco, what's going on?" He paused, before starting up the stairs to the main hall.

"It's starting." I followed him, pulling my wand out as wall.

"What's starting?" He turned the corner, stopping in his tracks.

"I've got to do something. . .go to Gryffindor tower, and stay there." He kissed me heatedly, holding me close, and then turned, running down the hall. I paused, before turning and running in the opposite direction, to Gryffindor Tower, banging on the frame when I got there. It swung open, and Ginny looked out at me, shocked.

"What's—"

"Let me in, please!" She nodded, stepping out of my way as I bolted into the common room, my eyes wide.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione looked up at me.

"He went with Dumbledore. . .about an hour ago, why?" I gaped at her, and then ran to the window, scanning the sky.

"They can't come back, not right now!" Julie frowned, getting up from the couch.

"Why not?" I bit my lip.

"Something's coming. . ." I started over to the couch, when Seamus called out from the other window.

"Bloody hell. . .you guys!" We all rushed over to him, staring out the window. Tears streaked down my cheeks, and I almost collapsed.

"It's the Dark Mark." I started for the door, when we all heard an explosion outside. Ron and I rushed to the window, and I screamed.

"It's Hagrid's!" I pulled out my wand, ready to try and spell down the figures that were pointing their wands into the blaze, when I recognized one of the tall, lean figures. I gasped.

"Draco. . ." Ron growled, drawing his wand.

"I'll show that bloody Malfoy." He spun around and bolted out the door. I screamed after him.

"Ron, no!" I started after him, but Hermione grabbed my arm, shaking her head.

"No. You, are pregnant, almost ready to pop. You're staying here in the common room, where it's _safe_." I bit my lip, watching from the window. My eyes darted to the right when another body bolted out from the castle, thinking it was Ron, but then seeing that it was Harry. I screamed out the window, more tears falling.

"D-Draco!" I watched as he ran for the school's front gates, followed by two or three others, Harry firing Stunning Spells at them, just missing by inches. I held my breath, and watched as the Death Eaters passed through the gates, Disapparating on the spot. I stood there, for what I thought was seconds, but when I snapped out of my stupor, out of the shock of just watching him leave, the sun was coming up, and Ron had his arms around me.

He spoke softly to me, kissing my hair.

"Malfoy's gone. . .Dumbledore's dead. . ." I nodded biting my lip.

"Is. . .is everyone alright?" He sighed.

"Professor McGonagall was taken to St. Mungo's. She was hit with three Stunning Spells. . .we haven't heard much about her condition." I was quiet for a moment, and then pulled away, starting for the door.

"I'm. . .I'm going to go pack my things. I'll need to head back to the Manor right away." Ron shook his head, grabbing my hand.

"No. I won't let you." I paused, looking up at him.

"Ron. . .i have to go back I lo—"

"After all he's done? To Hogwarts, to your friends, to you?" I bit my lip, fresh tears streaking down my cheeks.

"He's my fiancé. . .the father of my child. . .I need him." Ron shook his head.

"Come home with me to the Burrow, that is if you don't want to be with your parents still. If he writes to you, then you can go. Please, just give me this." I bit my lip and then burst into tears, pressing my face into his shoulder.

"I don't know what I'm going to do!" He held me close and sighed.

"I'll help you get through it. Through everything. Promise."

**~X~X~X~**

I groaned, glaring up at the ceiling.

"BEDREST IS RUBBISH!" Ron stuck his head into the room and smirked.

"You really need to keep your voice down. You know the baby can hear you right? You don't want her to be afraid of you like I'm afraid of my mum, do you?" Mrs. Weasley shouted from downstairs.

"I HEARD THAT RONALD!" We both laughed and he stepped inside, sitting down on the bed next to me. He sighed, holding an envelope out to me.

"You got an owl. . .it's from Malfoy." I snatched it out of his hands, glad to finally get a letter from Draco, disappointed when I saw it was just a few lines. I sighed, reading it out loud to Ron.

"_Hello, love. I miss you, but. . .now's not the best time. I hope you're alright. Write to me if the baby comes before I return, okay? Love, Your Dragon_." I bit my lip, holding back the tears. Ron shook his head.

"What a prick. Doesn't even want to be around for when his baby's born. . .Now I feel even worse about what I'm going to tell you." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" He sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"I'm. . .leaving. . .After Bill and Fleur's wedding, with Harry and Hermione." I gaped at him.

"Wh-why?" He paused before reaching out, taking my hands in his large, warm ones.

"Harry thinks he knows how to get rid of You Know Who. . .for real this time. And, Hermione and I were talking. . .we can't just let him go alone. It wouldn't be right. So after the wedding, we're heading out." I nodded, not letting my eyes reach his.

"Alright. . .do you know when you'll be back?" He shook his head.

"No. . .but as soon as possible, I promise." I nodded again, keeping myself from saying, _That's what Draco said._ He glanced towards the door when Hermione called up the stairs, and sighed.

"I've got to go. Mum's been putting us to work on wedding stuff since we got back from school. I'll be back up in a bit." I nodded, laying back down, staring out the window.

**~X~X~X~**

I smiled at Ron, raising an eyebrow at him as he pulled Hermione off to the dance floor. I looked at Harry, who was disguised as one of the Weasleys' 'cousins'.

"So. . .you guys are leaving after the wedding?" He nodded, glancing over his shoulder.

"Y-yeah. . ." Moments later, Ron came and sat down with us, taking a glass of firewhisky from a tray as a waiter passed.

"Weddings. They tire me out." I laughed, shaking my head.

"I'm the one that should be complaining! I can't even get up to dance!" He rolled his eyes, when suddenly, a Patronus, a lynx, darted through the reception, a voice I recognized as Kingsley Shacklebolt ringing out, shaking the poles of the tent.

"_The Ministry has fallen! Rufus Scrimgeour is dead!"_ The tent fell into silence. The calm before the storm. Then, all hell broke loose. People were screaming, pushing past each other, running for the gate and Disapparating as soon as they were out. Ron grabbed my arms, looking me in the eyes.

"Run! Get in the house, hurry!" I nodded and bolted, well, ran as fast as I could, glancing over my shoulder, my eyes widening when I saw the wisps over black smoke as Death Eaters appeared. Ginny bolted from the tent, grabbing my arm and pulling me into the house and up the stairs to Fred and George's room.

"It'll be okay. We're going to be fine!" I didn't understand why she was trying to reassure me, until I realized I was curled in on myself, my arms wrapped around my torso, tears streaking down my cheeks. She grabbed my shoulders, shaking me slightly.

"Krys, don't worry! They're not going to hurt you or the baby!" I nodded biting my lip, taking deep breath, knowing that if I didn't stop this I was going to have a panic attack, or worse, hurt the baby. . .or both.

Ginny sighed, shaking her head and then her eyes dropped to the floor.

"Krys. . .no, no, you can't do this right now!" She paused, before standing up and running out of the room, down the stairs. I heard shouting, and then footsteps coming back up the stairs. Mrs. Weasley rushed to my side, pulling me up by my arms.

"Krysten, dear, we're taking you to St. Mungo's, alright?" I shook my head, looking up at her.

"B-but it's too early! I can't have her now!" She glanced back at Ginny and sighed.

"Dear, we have to get you to the hospital, alright?" I sobbed, nodding slightly.

"B-but someone has to write to Draco for me!" Mrs. Weasley nodded, wrapping an arm around me.

"Yes, dear, Ginny will." She grabbed Ginny's hand, and spun on the spot, Apparating us to St. Mungo's.

**~X~X~X~**

Besides the excruciating pain, I couldn't remember much until a Healer walked in, placing Isabella in my arms. I smiled, tears streaking down my cheeks.

"She. . .she looks just like her daddy." Mrs. Weasley smiled, sitting in the chair by my bed, Ginny sitting by my feet. After a few moments of just watching Isabella sleep in my arms, the door swung open, and an unexpected guest walked in. I smiled.

"Hey, Neville." Neville sighed, crossing the room, a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He smiled at Isabella, setting the flowers down on the table across the room.

"She's really pretty." I nodded, stroking her blonde wisps of hair.

"Do you want to hold her?" Neville paused for a minute, and then nodded.

"S-sure." I smiled, slipping Isabella into his arms, smiling when his eyes lit up as he held her. Mrs. Weasley smiled.

"My, my, Neville, you certainly look right at home holding that baby." He shrugged, gently rocking her back and forth.

"I. . .I like babies. They. . .They're always so happy. . .even when they're crying. . .you know that they'll be better, just being held." I beamed, sitting in silence for a moment.

"Neville. . .what was your mum's name?" He looked up at me.

"Alice." I nodded, leaning back into my pillows.

"Isabella Alice. . .I like it." Neville shook his head.

"Krysten, you don't have to—"

"I want to. I also want you to be her godfather." Neville blushed, turning his eyes back to Isabella.

"You don't have to. . ." I smiled.

"I want you to be. Draco. . .I don't know when he'll be back. . .same goes for Ron. . .She's going to need some kind of father." He was silent for a moment, and then nodded.

"O-okay. . .of course I will."

**~X~X~X~**

I ran up to Neville, holding Bella on my hip. I grabbed his arm.

"_Neville,_ you can't possibly be serious about going back to Hogwarts! It's too dangerous! Death Eaters are teaching classes now, it's not safe!" He sighed, shaking his head.

"My grandmother'll kill me if I don't go back!" I bit my lip, holding Bella tighter.

"Just. . .be careful, okay?" He nodded, kissing Bella's hair, and then mine.

"Promise." He glanced towards the door and sighed.

"Better get going. I'll stop by during Christmas holiday, see how everyone's doing." I smiled slightly, watching him leave, and then walking towards the stairs, surprised to see Ginny walking down the stairs, pulling her trunk behind her.

"You're going back too?" She shrugged.

"If I don't, the 'Ministry' will come looking. Don't worry. I'll write everyday. And I'd better get pictures of Izzy, at least once a week!" I smiled and nodded, sitting down at the kitchen table, setting Bella down, letting her crawl across the floor. Mrs. Weasley baby-proofed the house, so I really had nothing to worry about.

"I just. . .I don't want to be the only one still hear, you know? I mean. . .it won't be as bad since I can use magic now but. . .still. It's gonna be lonely." Ginny smiled, snatching Bella up off the floor, making her giggle as she carried her over to the table.

"Well, you'll have this little sweety to keep you company. And maybe her daddy will finally decide to write you." She handed Bella off to me and I sighed, cradling her in my arms.

"Maybe. I doubt it though." Ginny was silent for a moment, before standing up.

"Well, I've got to go grab some last minute stuff. I'll be back in a bit."

**~X~X~X~**

I curled up on the couch, a sleeping Bella in my arms. I knew I had drifted off a few times, but it wasn't until I opened my eyes and Mr. Weasley was sitting in the chair across the room that I knew I had really been sleeping for a while. I sat up, realizing Bella wasn't in my arms, and sighed.

"Where's Bella?" He smiled.

"Molly took her upstairs. She started fussing while you were asleep and she didn't want to bother you." I groaned, getting up off the couch.

"I guess I'll go up and get her." Mr. Weasley raised an eyebrow at me.

"Don't you think you should get some rest? Molly wouldn't mind." I shook my head, starting for the stairs.

"I've got too much time on my hands. Bella's really the only thing that's keeping me sane." Before he could argue, I rushed up the stairs, knocking on the door to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's room, entering quietly. Bella looked up at me when I walked in and grinned.

"Ma. . . ma!" I smiled, sitting down on the floor, pulling her into my arms.

"Thank you for taking her Mrs. Weasley. . .and letting us stay here." She shook her head.

"It's perfectly alright dear, you're like another daughter to me. I wouldn't have you and Bella anywhere else." I started to thank her more, when Mr. Weasley shouted from downstairs.

"M-Molly! It's Ron!" We both looked at each other, and then I jumped up, running down the stairs, carrying Bella with me. I peered out the window, smiling brightly when I saw Ron coming up the walk, but then frowning when I realized he was alone. Mr. Weasley rushed to the door, drawing his wand.

"What did your mother call you when you were three?" Ron let out on exasperated sighed.

"Blinky Bottoms. . ." I giggled quietly, though he still heard me.

"Dad, it's me, can I come in now, please?" Mr. Weasley stepped away from the door and Ron walked in, freezing at the sight of me holding Bella. He smiled, heaving a sigh.

"Well. . .she looks just like her father, that's for sure." I chuckled, nodding slightly.

"It's just a shame she hasn't seen him beyond pictures yet." He sighed.

"So. . .he hasn't even written? At all?" I shook my head, biting my lip.

"N-not once. . .not since the letter I got before you left." I started, and then raised an eyebrow at him.

"Where's Harry and Hermione? They aren't. . Oh, Ron they're not-!"

"No, they're fine. . .I think. . .I just. . .couldn't do it anymore." I nodded, bouncing Bella slightly.

"Well. . .you can have your room back. I'll sleep on the couch." He rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to do that we have plenty of rooms you can stay in, you know that." I shrugged.

"Well. . .I guess. I could push Fred and George's beds together and sleep on them with Bella." He smiled slightly, nodding.

"Oh. . .can I hold her? I haven't gotten a chance to meet her yet." I nodded, looking at her.

"Darling, this is Mummy's very best friend, Uncle Ron." She nodded quickly, leaning and reaching for Ron, who scooped her up into his arms.

"Oh! Look at you! Now that I look at you, you're much cuter than your nasty, flaky father." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Ron, please." He nodded, slightly, and then Bella looked at me.

"Unca Nebull?" Ron raised an eyebrow at me.

"Neville? Has he been here?" I nodded, sitting down on the couch.

"He came and visited me at St. Mungo's the day I had her. He's her godfather. I got her middle name from his mum." He smiled slightly, sitting down in the easy chair by the fire place, holding Bella on his lap.

"Well, I'm glad she's had something of a dad." I nodded, and we sat in silence for a moment, before Ron yawned.

"I'm—I'm gonna head to bed. I'll sleep in Percy's room tonight, so you can stay in my room. I'll see you in the morning." He handed Bella to me and I smiled.

"Yeah. Okay." I stood up, and kissed his cheek before turning and walking up the stairs, back to Ron's room. Bella reached up, tugging on my hair.

"Dada?" I nodded, grabbing a photo album off the desk and sat down on the bed, pulling the cover open. The first picture was of Draco and I, in our dress robes, the first night we tried them on. Bella's eyes widened in joy as the two of us waved up at her, Draco kissing me every so often. Bella tapped the corner of the album.

"Next!" I smiled, the next few pages from school and Hogsmeade. The last picture in the book, was one of me, dressed in maternity clothes, my abdomen swollen with child, Draco's arms wrapped around me, his face bright with joy. Bella patted my stomach in the picture and whispered to herself.

"Me." I kissing her hair, nodding slightly.

"Yup, baby. That's you." I closed the album and set it down, pulling Bella up into my arms and laying down.

"Now. Sleep." She nodded, her eyes slipping closed, and her breathing evening out as she fell asleep. Moments later, I thought I heard a girl's voice up in Percy's room, though when I listened again, it was silent. I heard a few footsteps, and then the house was silent again. I laid quiet for a moment, before shutting my eyes and falling asleep.


	12. She Already Loves You

Maybe another month passed, and still no word from Draco. Ron had left again, feeling regretful about just leaving Harry and Hermione. So I was back to square one. Alone, with my almost a year old baby girl, no husband, no parents, no one. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley tried to help as much as they could, but most of the time were busy with housework, or the Order. Members from the Order passed through every once in a while, but no one with any news I wanted to hear.

After weeks of no news, and nothing happening except empty threats from Snatchers, a call had been sounded. The battle was now, it was time, and it was at Hogwarts. Order members bolting through the house, waving their wands about. It was all I could do, to keep Bella out of the way of the adults' feet. Amidst all the madness, the twins pushed their way out of the crowd up to me, speaking quickly, most of the time in unison.

"Hello there little one!"

"I'm your Uncle Fred!"

"—and George!" Isabella waved at them, smiling for the first time all day. Fred smiled, pulling a silk rose from his pocket.

"For you, little lady." He handed the flower to Bella, who beamed, and then he looked at me.

"Heard anything from her father yet?" I shook my head, and he sighed.

"Well. . .If I blow him to bits, I'll let you know." I started to smack him, but he bolted off, George following closely behind him. Suddenly, all the noise stopped, Mr. Weasley standing up on a chair.

"We're going to the Hogs Head in Hogsmeade. Ginny's told me there's a passage from there into Hogwarts." George frowned.

"And how do we know that the Death Eater's don't know about it?" Mr. Weasley looked at him.

"Because Harry, Hermione, and Ron got in that way." Everyone nodded, and I looked at Mrs. Weasley, who had joined me in the doorway.

"What am I supposed to do, Mrs. Weasley? Who's going to take care of Bella?" She shook her head.

"You're staying here. Bella needs her mummy, and you getting hurt, or worse isn't worth it." I bit my lip.

"What if Dra—"

"Dear, reconciling in a battle isn't the best idea, not for you, or for him. It's just not safe. Everything will be alright." As she said this, at least half of the people in the room Disapparated. Mrs. Weasley looked at me and smiled.

"Your main concern right now is that darling baby of yours. Stay safe, don't leave the house. . .you'll know when it's all over." I nodded, and stood there as more people Disapparated, until I was alone in the house. Bella reached up, tugging on my hair.

"Mummy? Where'd they go?" I sighed, hitching her up higher on my hip as I started up the stairs.

"Off to be heroes, baby." She tilted her head to the side.

"Like Daddy?" I stopped walking, and then sighed.

"They're fighting against Daddy." I pushed open the door to Ron's room, setting her down on the bed while I grabbed some pajamas for her.

"Why?" I smiled.

"They don't see things the same way." Bella was quiet for a moment, looking up at me when I turned around.

"How do _you_ see things, Mummy? The same as Daddy, or Nana and Papa?" I smiled at her names for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. I sat down, pulling her close so I could change her clothes.

"I don't. . .I'm not really sure anymore, baby." She sat in silence for a moment, and then laid down, curling up on her side.

"Then neither am I." I smiled slightly, laying down next to her.

"You'll understand someday." I kissed her hair, before closing my eyes, slipping off into a light sleep.

**~X~X~X~**

When I woke up, I heard crying downstairs, and Bella was shaking in my arms.

"Mummy, what's happened?" I sat up, my eyes wide.

"I. . .I don't know." I picked up, stepping out into the hall and rushing down the stairs, to find all the Weasleys, except for Fred and Bill, on the couch, crying, Harry and Hermione in the kitchen. I moved in there, looking up at Harry, whose eyes were red and puff from tears, scratches covering his body, his clothes torn and dirty.

"Wh-what happened." Hermione sobbed quietly, and Bella pulled on my hair, whimpering.

"Mummy. . ." Harry shook his head.

"F-Fred. . .he's dead. . .and Lupin and Tonks. . .they are too." He glanced towards the living room.

"Bill. . .he was attacked by Fenrir Greyback." I gasped, holding Bella closer.

"Is he. . ?" He shook his head.

"No. . .he's in St. Mungo's right now. . .they don't' know what will happen, since Greyback wasn't changed when it happened. We'll know more later." I nodded, stroking Bella's hair soothingly.

"And. . .the Dark Lord?" He smiled slightly.

"Dead. . .finally." I bit my lip, before asking what I really wanted to know.

"Did you see—"

"Yes. And we saved his life twice so. . .don't curse me for not dragging him back by his knickers or something." I smiled, tears streaking down my cheeks.

"N-no, that's all I needed. . .to know that he's okay." Bella wiped a tear off my cheek.

"Mummy?" I smiled, kissing her forehead.

"Everything's okay now. Everyone's safe." She frowned.

"What about Daddy?" Harry sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Azkaban." I froze, my eyes widening.

"Y-you mean. . .no!" He nodded.

"You've been asleep for the few hours after everything. . .they found the Malfoys, put them away." I sobbed, clapping my free hand over my mouth.

"Even. . .even Narcissa?" Harry nodded, glancing at Hermione who had sunk into a chair at the table.

"She. . .I wasn't too pleased about her going away. . .she's done nothing wrong. . .saved my life. . .everything she's done, it was to protect Malfoy." I bit my lip.

"Isn't there something you can do?" He shrugged.

"I-I don't know. . .it would take some time." I bit my lip.

"Anything. . .I don't care how long it takes. . ." I glanced at Isabella, who was staring up at Harry, "I want my little girl to know her family." Harry nodded, glancing over my shoulder.

"I'll try. . .but for the time being, I can't think of a better family for her to have, than the Weasleys."

**~X~X~X~**

I bit my lip, holding Isabella on my arms. Today was her birthday, but not only that, she was going to meet her grandma for the first time. Harry sighed, one hand on my waist.

"You ready?" I nodded, looking at Bella.

"Are you?" She nodded anxiously.

"Gramma!" Harry sighed, pushing the door open.

"Well, go on. I'll be waiting out in the car." I sighed, stepping into the front hall of the Manor, surprised to find that it wasn't even the slightest bit dusty. I called out.

"Mum?" I heard her voice in the parlor.

"I'm in here, dear." I smiled, bouncing Bella in my arms as I walked up the hall, turning at the door. As soon as she saw us, or maybe just Bella, her eyes lit up.

"Oh, darling, she's beautiful!" Narcissa jumped up, walking to my side.

"May. . .may I hold her?" I nodded, passing Bella off to her. Bella smiled.

"Gramma!" Narcissa laughed.

"Oh, good heavens, she knows who I am!" I smiled, sitting down on the familiar loveseat, picking up my cup of tea.

"Well, she's been talking non-stop about meeting you since Harry started working on your release." Narcissa smiled, kissing Bella's hair as she sat down.

"So you said her name was. . ?"

"Isabella Alice Malfoy." She nodded, rocking gently back and forth.

"Beautiful." We sat in silence, and then she looked up at me.

"I've really missed you. Why didn't you ever come back?" I sighed, taking a tart from the tray that was set out.

"I just. . .The Weasleys were worried about my safety, and Bella, that's all. I. . .would have come back in a heartbeat if I could." She nodded, sipping her tea in silence, bouncing Bella on her knee.

"So. . .Would you like to come back?" I smiled.

"Really? Even with Draco being. . ." Narcissa grinned, kissing Bella's hair again.

"Of course. I've really missed you. And I want to be around to watch this little girl grow up. Be there for you." I nodded, smiling.

"Then I guess I will. I'll have to get Bella's things from the Weasley's. . .my things. . .and. . .find a spot in Draco's closet fo—"

"You can have your own room if you want. . .I know. . .that since he didn't write to you, the last few months, you wouldn't. . ." I nodded, understanding.

"Yeah. . .I think that might be best. For everyone." Narcissa smiled, handing Bella back to me.

"Well, I'll go get the elves to set up a room for you and I'll see you again. . ?" I smiled.

"Tomorrow. The sooner I can get back here, the happier I'll be." She sighed, leaning forward and giving me a hug.

"I'm so glad to have you back. You're the daughter I've always wanted but never had." I nodded, pulling away slightly.

"Did Draco ever tell you that he proposed?" Narcissa nodded.

"Yes. He told me before he did, actually. He was very excited. . .and then everything happened." I nodded, standing up, setting Bella on her feet and taking her hand so she could walk along with me.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mum." She nodded, kissing my forehead, and then kneeling down in front of Bella.

"And I'll be seeing you tomorrow too deary. Gramma can't wait to have you living here." She kissed her hair, and then stood up, tears sparkling in her eyes. I smiled, shaking my head.

"Mum, please don't cry. You'll make me cry." She laughed quietly, pulling me into a hug.

"I'm just glad to have at least part of my family back."

**~X~X~X~**

I smiled, sitting cross legged on the floor, watching Bella run up and down the hall. She giggled.

"Mummy, watch!" She did a cartwheel, and as she passed me, I grabbed her around the waist.

"Only you would be able to do a cartwheel at five years old, you know that?" She plopped down into my lap and laughed.

"Really?" I nodded kissing her hair.

"Yes, love. You're so special." I started to hum a soft song in her ear, when Harry appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Krysten. . .take her into your room. She doesn't need to see." I frowned, but stood up, carrying Bella with me into my room, shutting and locking the door behind us. She frowned, wriggling in my arms.

"Mummy? What's wrong with Uncle Harry?" I shook my head, setting her down on the bed.

"Stay here." I walked back to the door, stepping out into the hall, where two elves and Narcissa were leading someone, wearing a black cloak up the stairs, stopping in front of the door to Draco's room. I looked as Harry as he came up the stairs, his eyes full of pity.

"Is that. . .who I think it is?" He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Five years in Azkaban hasn't done him any favors." I bit my lip, shaking my head.

"Is he. . .is he going to be okay?" Harry shrugged.

"He's. . .well. . .you know what happens in there, the Dementors. Suck every good, happy memory out of you. And with Malfoy, I'm willing to be, most of them were about you." I sighed, glancing back at my door.

"Can I see him?" Harry frowned slightly, turning his eyes to Draco's door, where Narcissa was standing.

"It's up to Narcissa." I nodded.

"Make sure Bella doesn't come out." I walked past him up to Narcissa and sighed. I peered into the room, watching the elves undress Draco, slipping him into a pair of pajama pants and laying him down on the bed. I bit my lip.

"He's. . .he's not alright is he?" As I looked closer, I saw that he was extremely thin, his ribs sticking out, and cheeks hollow, his eyes deep with shadows. There was a thin stubble across his chin, so I figured he probably hadn't shaven for the last few days. I sighed.

"When did he get out?" Narcissa shook her head, tears streaking down her cheeks.

"A few days ago. He's been staying with Harry since then. . .Harry said he was a lot worse before." The elves left the room, and Draco whispered towards the door.

"Mummy?" Narcissa walked into the room, her movements slow, measured.

"Yes, my little dragon?" He was silent for a moment, staring up at the ceiling.

"Dragon. . .Krysten used to call me Dragon." She nodded, sitting down on the bed next to him.

"Yes. What'd you need dear?" Draco sighed.

"Could I. . .could I have some parchment? I want. . .I want to write to her, see if she's had the baby yet. . .I feel. . .bad for leaving." Narcissa sobbed quietly, taking his hand.

"Darling, you were in Azkaban for a very long time. Five years." He frowned.

"She's already had the baby?" She nodded, glancing back at me, then back at him.

"Yes, darling. She's had the baby. It's been almost five years." Draco made a gasping noise, that I didn't recognize as a sob until Narcissa reached up, wiping his cheek.

"No, no, no, Draco, darling, don't cry." He shook his head.

"She's five years old and doesn't even know me!" I paused before stepping into the room, smiling slightly.

"Draco. She hasn't met you but she already loves you. I've shown her pictures every day since she could say 'Dada'." He looked up at me, his eyes widening. I nodded.

"Yes, love. It's me." I sat down on the bed across from Narcissa, taking his other hand. He smiled slightly.

"It's really you." I nodded, kissing his hand and setting it down on the bed.

"Yes. Now listen to me, you need to get better. I can't. . .I can't let Bella see you like this. It wouldn't be fair to either of you. So you've gotta try." Draco nodded.

"O-okay." I started to speak, when Harry stuck his head in the door.

"Krys, Izzy wants you." I nodded, smiling back at Draco.

"I'll be back in a bit." I kissed his hand again, before standing and walking out into the hall, smiling slightly when I saw Bella peering out of the door of our room. I pushed the door open, sweeping her up into my arms.

"Tomorrow, you and I are going to Diagon Alley, to pick you out a nice little dress, alright?" She smiled.

"Why, Mummy?" I kissed her hair, my eyes wet.

"Because, Daddy's coming home soon, and you want to look pretty for him, right?" She nodded, her hair gleaming from the lights on the wall.

"Yes!"

**~X~X~X~**

I smiled at Narcissa as she carried Bella down the hall.

"You two have a nice dinner." I nodded, kissing Bella's hair.

"You too." I waved once, before turning and walking to Draco's room, smiling when I found him sitting up in the bed, waiting for me. He had gained weight, color returning to his cheeks. I crossed the room and kissed him quickly, sitting down on the other side of the tray that was set up on the bed. He sighed.

"So, Bella's eating with Mum tonight?" I nodded.

"Yes, just the two of us." I poured us our wine and then sighed.

"So. . .I was thinking. . .since you're better, you could. ..really _meet_ her tomorrow. She's been so excited since I took her to find a dress to wear." He sighed, cutting into his steak.

"Are you sure. . .I'm. . .ready? I look healthy? She won't be scared?" I smiled, taking his hand.

"She'll never be scared of you. You're her daddy." Draco ate silently for a moment, and then nodded.

"Yes. Tomorrow."

**~X~X~X~**

I smiled as I brushed Bella's hair back, tying it up with a long black ribbon. Slipping her shoes on, I looked up at her.

"Are you excited to be seeing Daddy?" She nodded, a grinning, showing off the fact that she was now missing one of her front teeth, making her even more adorable.

"Yup yup!" I sighed, straightening out her dress before pulling her to her feet.

"Let's go." Bella rushed for the door and I chuckled.

"Slow down, it's just your father, not the Minister of Magic or anything." I scooped her up and carried her down to the dining room, taking my seat, letting her stand beside me, since she was bouncing too much to sit down. I turned to Narcissa, and immediately turned back to the door when Bella let out a soft gasp.

"Daddy. . ." Draco smiled, holding his arms out to her.

"Bella." She squealed and ran forward, jumping into his arms.

"Daddy!" He held her close, and I smiled when I saw a few tears sparkling in his eyes. Draco kissed her hair, holding her away to get a better look at her.

"My little Beauty. You've no idea how long I've been wanting to see you." Bella smiled, burying her face in his neck. Narcissa smiled.

"Draco darling, why don't we eat, and then we can all catch up. Wouldn't want the house elves' hard work to go to waste now would you?" He smiled, holding Bella on his hip as he walked to the table, holding her in his lap as he sat down.

"Alright, but she's sitting with me." I smiled, watching as Bella leaned back against Draco's chest, smiling up at him. I bit my lip, trying to keep myself from crying when I heard her whisper up at him.

"Love you, Daddy." Draco looked down at her, kissing her nose.

"Love you too." He looked up at me and winked before reaching out, taking his glass of wine, taking a drink. I sighed, cutting into my veal, smiling when a house elf walked in, carrying a small plate of macaroni and cheese for Bella. She smiled, patting his head when he sat it in front of her.

"Thank you, Louffy!" The house elf bowed, and then Disapparated. Narcissa smiled, shaking her head.

"She's so sweet to the elfs. In a few years she's be helping Hermione with her campaign!" Draco chuckled, shaking his head.

"I shudder to think of it. What was on those pins she used to hand out? Spew?" I laughed, shaking my head.

"Only Hermione wouldn't be able to see the humor in that name."

**~X~X~X~**

I walked into the parlor, smiling when I found Draco sleeping on the floor, Bella snoring quietly on his chest. Narcissa peered in over my shoulder and sighed.

"Oh, isn't that cute. They tuckered themselves out." I leaned against the door jamb, shaking my head.

"Should we leave them, or wake him up and take her upstairs?" I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well. . .his back will be sore in the morning. . .but I don't think he'll mind." I sighed, and walked down the hall to the linen closet, grabbing two throws before walking back to the parlor, spreading one over Draco and Bella, and then curled up on the couch, pulling the other around myself. Narcissa smiled, waving her wand and dimming the lights.

"Goodnight."

**~X~X~X~**

When I woke up, I was surprised to find myself wrapped in Draco's arms on the couch. I groaned, trying to get up, but he held me closer.

"Morning." He kissed my neck and I sighed, melting into his arms.

"Where's Bella?" He sighed, his cool breath wafting over my skin.

"With Mum. She took her out for a little shopping. To give us some time alone." I rolled over, and he shifted so I was laying on his chest.

"We haven't been this close since before you left." Draco smiled, kissing my hair.

"I'm sorry about that." I shook my head.

"You don't need to be. I'm just glad you're home." He was silent for a moment, and then took my left hand, looking at the ring.

"So. . .has Mum forced you into any wedding planning yet?" I shook my head, running my fingers through his hair.

"No. . .because. . .well. . .we didn't know when you were going to be back. After you were. . .we didn't know how long it would take for you to be better." He nodded, kissing my hair.

"As soon as Mum gets back, we'll get to work." I sighed, resting my head on his chest.

"Shall we go get some breakfast?" As soon as I spoke, Louffy appeared, holding a tray of sausage and eggs. Draco eyed the kettle on the tray, lifting his head up.

"That wouldn't happen to be coffee, now, would it Louffy?" The elf nodded.

"Oh, yes sir! Louffy knows how young Master Malfoy loves his coffee in the morning." He set the tray on the table and then disappeared with a pop. Draco smiled, sitting up, keeping his arms around me.

"Mmm, I was kinda of looking forward to making Bella breakfast this morning. . .guess I'll have to save that for another day. . ." I sighed, kissing his neck.

"You're a good daddy." He chuckled, kissing my hair.

"Yeah, and I've got the sore neck to prove it." I laughed, shaking my head.

"Well you didn't have to sleep on the floor, ya know." He nodded, grabbing a piece of sausage, nibbling on the end.

"Yeah, I know. . .but I didn't want to move and risk waking her up. I'm sure you've done the same thing before." I smiled, pouring myself a mug of coffee.

"Yeah. Sleeping in the same chair, for six hours off and on. Not a good feeling." Draco smirked, grabbing a fork, eating some of the eggs.

"Never again. You get tired, you leave her with me. You get a headache, or sick, I'll take her until you're better." I nodded, taking a drink of my coffee.

"Sounds perfect. . .and. . .I was thinking. . .what do we want to do about school for her?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Hogwarts." I sighed, shaking my head.

"Before that. No one just goes straight to Hogwarts. Especially Muggleborns. They go to grade school." Draco was silent for a moment, mulling it over.

"Well. . .we could get her a private tutor. A wizard, obviously. . .I mean, she's going to make all her real friends at Hogwarts anyhow, right?" I shrugged.

"I guess. . .I'll talk to Narcissa about it later. She'll be more than willing to help." Draco nodded, wrapping his arms around me, kissing me softly.

"Sounds good to me." I looked up when I heard a faint pop in the front hall. Bella's giggles travelled down the hall, making me smile.

"M-mummy! Daddy! Apperpation is fun!" Draco smiled, kissing my hair.

"And so it begins."


	13. Thank You, Harry

Draco ran into the room, Bella clinging to his back. She giggled.

"C'mon, Mummy! Me and Daddy are going to play out in the back yard! You come too!" I smiled, setting my book down on the small end table. I raised an eyebrow at Draco.

"Wasn't Tammy supposed to be here today?" He shrugged at the mention of Bella's home tutor.

"Poor girl's sick. Told her to take the day off. C'mon, love, pleeeease?" Bella pouted, looking at me from over his shoulder.

"Yeah, Mummy, pleeease?" I stood up, kissing her cheek, and then kissing Draco softly.

"Oh, I can't say no to those faces." Draco smiled, kissing my hair before turning and running out into the hall and down the stairs. I shook my head and smiled, walking along until I came to the back patio, watching as Draco chased Bella across the back lawn. I leaned against the stone railing, smiling fondly down at them. Draco looked up and waved, calling up to me.

"Oh, c'mon! Come play! A mother can't go her whole live sitting around like a fair maiden or something! She's gotta play as a dragon every once in a while!" I turned when I heard Narcissa chuckle from the doorway. She walked to my side, shouting down to him.

"Not in this case! Why'd you think we named you Dragon?" He stopped running and shrugged.

"I thought it was because of my fearsome temper. I guess you just knew I was going to have a daughter that fancied herself as a princess then, didn't you?" Narcissa laughed.

"Well. . .no but your father had his suspicions." Draco chuckled, walking up the stairs, glancing back at Bella who was playing on her swingset. He wrapped his arms around my waist, smiling at Narcissa.

"Of course you have to bring Father and his underlying femininity into this." We all laughed, and I looked up at him.

"Well. . .he did always wear ribbons in his hair. . .most of the time anyways." Narcissa chuckled, glancing across the grass at Bella.

"Oh. . .she'll be such a pretty flowergirl." I nodded, leaning back against Draco's chest.

"Yeah. . .she will." Bella looked up at us, smiling.

"Mummy! Come look at the pretty birdy!" I laughed, bouncing down the stairs and kneeling down next to her, following her pointing finger towards a bush, where I saw the white feathers and the small beak. I wrapped my arms around her.

"Do you know what kind of bird that is sweetie?" She shook her head.

"Nuh uh!" I smiled, kissing her hair.

"That's one of Grampa's peacocks. They're all over the estate. When you're older, maybe we'll go looking for some more of them." Bella nodded, glancing towards the patio.

"And Daddy'll come with us, right?" I nodded.

"Of course." She was silent for a moment, and then looked up at me.

"He's not gonna leave again, is he, Mummy?" I shook my head quickly, kissing her hair.

"Never. All he wants is to be with us. The only reason he left before was. . .to protect us. To protect the people he cares about." She nodded, twisting her hair in her hands.

"Okay." I smiled, pulling her close.

"He's never leaving again. He's promised me that, and I promise you that, okay?" Bella nodded, kissing my cheek.

"Okay, Mummy." I paused, before scooping her up into my arms.

"C'mon. Let's go eat lunch."

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, laying on Draco's chest, shivering as he ran his fingers up my back.

"I missed this." He nodded, reaching up to stroke my hair.

"I kinda was afraid that we'd never get to do this again. . .with Bella around all the time." I chuckled, kissing his collarbone.

"Heh, thank God for Gramma." Draco laughed, kissing my hair.

"You're telling me. I know Azkaban isn't the best place for logical thinking, but five years without. . .well. . .this. . .was hell." I raised an eyebrow at him, and then kissed him, knotting my fingers in his hair.

"And I thought it was the Dementors that made Azkaban bad." He shook his head.

"They. . .they didn't really bother me much. . .I was kinda messed up before I was put in there. . .the battle. . .messed me up. . .the screaming. . .and the blood. . .the bodies. . ." Draco shuddered, holding me tighter.

"But. . .I'm fine now. No worries." I laid there in silence for a moment, and then looked up at him.

"Well. . .we'd better get dressed before Mum and Bella get home." I started to get up, but he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me back down.

"I was thinking. . .that you could move back into my room with me." I frowned slightly.

"What about Bella?" He smiled.

"Well. . .she's old enough to have her own room now. . .she can stay in the room you two are in now, we'll fix it up just for her, and you can come back to stay in here." I bit my lip, tracing patterns with my nail on his chest.

"Uh. . .I don't know. . .we've always shared a room. . ." Draco shook his head, kissing my hair.

"You've gotta let her grow up sometime. Her own room is the first step." I was quiet for a long time, staring down at my hands.

"I'll think about it." He smiled, taking my face in his hands.

"Well think about it faster. I miss waking up to you in the mornings, feeling you in the bed next to me. Please?" He lightly pressed his lips to mine and then pulled away, leaving a trail of feather light kisses down over my jaw, down my neck, stopping when he came to my shoulder. "Please?" I moaned quietly at the feel of his lips.

"Ugh. . .that's not fair. . ." He grinned, raising an eyebrow at me.

"So you'll move back in?" I nodded, rolling my eyes as I pressed my lips to his.

"Yes. Fine." He sighed, stroking my back, leaving goosebumps on my skin.

"Excellent."

**~X~X~X~**

I bolted up out of the bed when I heard Bella scream in the next room.

"Mummy!" Before I could get up, Draco reached over to the nightstand, grabbing his wand.

"What is it?" I grabbed his arm, shaking my head.

"It's just the baby." He glanced at me and then nodded.

"Uh. . .you want me to take care of it?" I kissed his cheek and smiled.

"It's okay. I'll go check on her." Bella cried out again.

"Mummy!" I rolled off the bed, pulling on my satin robe, and walked out into the hall, into Bella's room. I smiled, sitting down on her bed.

"Hey, baby. What's wrong?" She sniffed, rubbing at her eyes.

"I. . .had a dream about Uncle Fred again. . .And Uncle Bill." I sighed, pulling her into my arms.

"Uncle Fred's in a better place now sweetie. . .and Bill. . .I know he gets kinda scary, but he still loves you." She nodded, burying her face in my hair.

"But Uncle George is always so sad! And Auntie Fleur!" I smiled, kissing her forehead.

"They have good reason to be. But it's okay. Just go to sleep baby, alright? Everything's fine." She nodded, slipping off my lap and crawling under her pale, lavender covers.

"Okay, Mummy. Night, love you." I kissed her forehead and tucked her in, before standing up and walking back to our room, slipping back into bed with Draco.

"Just another bad dream about Fred and Bill." He frowned.

"Has she had a lot of those?" I nodded, crossing my legs in front of me.

"A fair few. Fred was always her favorite. Heh. . .he always brought her these. . .little silk flowers from the shop, and when you tap them three times with a wand, the petals would turn into butterflies. She loved them so much. . .but. . .George says he can't make them anymore. . .he says it hurts too much, to think about the things Fred loved." Draco nodded, pulling me into his lap.

"I know. . .I was never on the best terms with the Weasleys. . .but I really am sorry that they lost so much. . .I don't know what I'd do if I lost you and Bella. I'd die." I cuddled into his chest, sighing.

"You won't have to worry about that. All the death. . .the war is over. We're all okay, and it's going to stay that way." He sighed, kissing my hair.

"Let's get back to bed." Draco pulled me down, holding me against his chest, and in a matter of minutes, I was asleep.

**~X~X~X~**

I was woken up by Bella jumping on the bed. I groaned, rolled over and sighed when the bouncing stopped. I looked up to see Draco holding Bella and murmuring in her ear. She nodded and jumped off the bed running back out into the hall. I closed my eyes again, smiling when I felt Draco's arms snake around my waist. He kissed my neck and sighed.

"Morning, love. Do you know what today is?" I shrugged indifferently.

"Saturday?" He shook his head.

"Today, is your twenty-second birthday." I frowned, sitting up in bed.

"And why was Bella so excited about this fact?" Draco smiled, wrapping his arms around me.

"You'll see. C'mon, get dressed, put on something nice, one of the numbers my mum bought for you." I nodded, getting up out of bed and walking to the closet. I slipped into the first dress I had worn at the Malfoy's, long sleeved, boat necked, and a deep black. I stepped out into the bedroom, and Draco smiled, shaking his head.

"You look lovelier every time I see you in that dress." I shook my head and grabbed a pair of shoes, slipping them on before looking back at him, pulling a comb through my hair.

"So what exactly is going on?" Draco smiled, kissing my cheek.

"It's a surprise." I rolled my eyes.

"So help me, Malfoy if you do—" My words were cut short by his lips pressing against mine. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I sighed. Draco pulled away and grinned.

"You've just got to trust me." He took my hand and pulled me out into the hall. I heard voices downstairs and frowned.

"What's—"

"Trust me." We walked down the stairs and to one of the visiting rooms, which was full of my friends from Hogwarts, Draco kissed my hair and then let go of my hand, sitting down as I walked through the room. I saw Bella run and jump into his lap, and smiled slightly, stopping when I came up to Hermione who was clearly pregnant, talking to Harry and Julie, who had their arms wrapped around each other. I smiled.

"Well what did I miss when I was wrapped in the recluse of the Malfoy household?" Hermione smiled slightly.

"Ron and I are engaged." I smirked.

"Shotgun wedding?" She rolled her eyes.

"No. . .just. . .odd timing." I nodded and looked at Harry, then Julie.

"And what about you two?" Julie smiled.

"I'm pregnant!" Harry chuckled.

"I thought we were going to wait to tell everyone." Julie looked up at him and smiled.

"Well, it's her birthday, I think she should get to know first." He shook his head, kissing her hair.

"My Jewel. . ." He looked up at me and smiled.

"Now, I worked really hard to get you your present, so you'd better be extremely happy with me." I frowned slightly, and looked up when I heard several people by the door gasp. Narcissa walked into the room, holding her wand, a very large, very beautiful cake floating in front of her. She set it down on the table in the middle of the room and smiled, looking at me.

"Happy birthday dear." Draco smiled, calling out.

"We don't have time for songs, get on with the presents!" Bella nodded and laughed, bouncing on his knee. Ginny walked forward, her arm linked with George's who was smiling slightly. He pulled me into a hug and sighed.

"Fred would have loved to be here." I nodded, holding him tightly.

"I know. But having you here is just as good." He smiled and looked back at Ginny.

"Well now, Ginerva, I believe you were the one holding the gift?" She nodded and smiled, holding a small box out to me.

"Yeah." I opened it and smiled when I saw that it was a lion with bright red eyes. Ginny smirked.

"I figured that since Malfoy could give you a Slytherin necklace, you wouldn't mind a Gryffindor to match." I smiled, giving her a hug, and then George.

"Thanks you two." George smiled.

"That's actually from the whole family. We were just the only ones that could come. . .Ron's around here somewhere. . not sure where." I nodded and smiled when Narcissa walked up, circling an arm around my waist.

"You'll get your gift from me later, you'll love it, I promise. . .time for Harry's!" Harry looked up and nodded, kissing Julie quickly before walking up to me.

"Alright, this took me about a year, so be happy." He gestured towards the door, and I followed his gaze, smiling when I saw Draco, talking to Lucius, who was holding a grinning Bella in his arms.

"You got him released. . ." Harry nodded.

"I promised I would. . .it just took a while." I looked up at him and he sighed.

"Two more." He grabbed my arm and pulled me across the room to were a few chairs were set up, two of them taken up by. . .my parents. Daddy looked up and smiled.

"Button." I bit my lip, and threw myself into his arms as he stood.

"Daddy!" He kissed my hair and sighed.

"You're definitely not a little girl anymore. But your little girl is gorgeous." Mum nodded, giving me a hug when she stood.

"She really is. We've missed you, why didn't you ever write?" I frowned.

"I was afraid you'd make me go to the States if I did, you should know that." Daddy nodded.

"We shouldn't have tried to take you away, after we knew you were getting serious with Draco." I sighed, looking back at Draco who waved, along with Bella. I looked back at Daddy and smiled.

"Well. . .I'm really happy now, and so glad to see you again. . . what happened? After everything." Mum sighed.

"Azkaban. Harry didn't just find us, he got our release as well. . .just don't tell him we told you. . .he didn't really want you to know he's done so much. He just wanted to help." I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest.

"So. . .was it the Imperius? You said you never wanted to go back and then you. . .did." Daddy shook his head.

"The Dark Lord was threatening us. . .with you. . .and Lucius was frantic, because he knew Draco would never forgive him if something happened to you. . .so he talked us into joining up again. . ." I smiled slightly, glancing towards the doorway, where Lucius had taken Bella back into his arms. I sighed, kissing Daddy's cheek.

"Well, I'm going to go say hello to Lucius. I've missed him." I gave Mum a quick hug before turning and walking up to Lucius, who gave me a quick hug.

"Darling, I've missed you." I smiled, standing away.

"I've missed you too, Lucius, it's good to have you back." I looked at Bella and grinned.

"Are you being nice to your Grampa?" She nodded and laughed.

"Yeah! Grampa Luci is the best!" I raised an eyebrow at Lucius, who looked a bit flustered.

"She has a bit of a problem saying Lucius." I chuckled.

"And Grampa isn't enough?" Draco laughed, shaking his head.

"He wanted to leave some reserves for Matt." I smiled, looking back at Lucius.

"Grampa is fine. My dad. . .he'll be fine with whatever she calls him." He nodded and looked at Bella, hitching her up higher on his hip.

"Come now, let's go get some cake." He winked at me and then walked across the room to Narcissa who was passing out slices to the people that had gathered around the cake. Draco smiled, and pulled me down into his lap, kissing my hair.

"Happy Birthday." I smiled, turning to press my lips against his.

"Thank you." He sighed, glancing around the room.

"So, once this whole thing breaks up, I'm taking you out for dinner, and Bella is going to stay here with my mum and dad." I glanced around the room, resting my head on his shoulder.

"I've really missed some of these people. Thank you." He nodded, looking over people's heads and smiling.

"Hey, Neville's here." I looked up, smiling when I saw Neville pushing his way across the room, grinning when he reached me.

"H-Happy birthday, Krysten. You alright?" I nodded, standing up and giving him a hug.

"Yes, of course. How's your job at Hogwarts? How's Professor McGonagall fairing as Headmistress?" He nodded.

"It's great. I love teaching Herbology. I think Minerva's doing a great job, though, a lot of people at the Prophet don't necessarily agree with me." I sighed, shaking my head.

"Those people there just never let up do they?" Harry was suddenly standing beside us.

"No, they don't. There was an article last week about a campaign going around to stick me in the Minister position. Shacklebolt's furious, won't even talk to me anymore, because Rita Skeeter got to him first." I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"That vile woman. She's got to be up on the list with Umbridge, I swear." I looked up when Narcissa called out.

"Last call for cake!" I smiled when Draco stood, kissing my hair.

"I'll go get us some." He walked off to the table and I sighed, looking at Neville.

"You don't come around enough Neville, Bella really misses you. I do too." Neville nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I know. I'll try to come over more on weekends and during the holidays. I just get so busy, grading work and everything, you know?" I nodded, frowning when Draco looked up, his eyes narrowing.

"Ugh, if those troublemakers are back again. . ." I frowned.

"Who?" Neville shook his head.

"Snatchers. From before. They've all banded together and love causing trouble around old Death Eaters that got away." My eyes widened, and I grabbed Draco's left arm.

"But they—"

"The Ministry doesn't take stock in them anymore. Don't worry." Draco smiled and kissed my hair.

"I'm sure the elves will get rid of them. It'll be fine."

**~X~X~X~**

I sighed, flipping idly through the menu. Draco raised an eyebrow at me.

"Something bothering you?"

I frowned.

"No. . .Did you read the Prophet this morning?" He paused, sitting in silence.

"You mean the article about you and Weasley? Psh, what a joke. Rita Skeeter and her stories." I was quiet for a moment, and he frowned.

"You aren't. . ._really_ upset about his marriage are you?" I shook my head quickly.

"No. . .I just. . ..and I hate to say this, but I really think there's a better girl out there for him. Someone who's not Hermione. I mean. . .all the fights they had at Hogwarts, it can't possibly end well, don't you think?" Draco shrugged, taking a sip of his water.

"I suppose. But I'm sure Weasley's. . .matured. I mean, he hasn't run off after getting her pregnant yet, now has he? That must mean something." I frowned slightly, shaking my head.

"I dunno. . .I guess." Draco studied my face for a moment and then smiled.

"I'm not really supposed to tell you this, but when we get home, Mum's got a wedding planner waiting for you.. . .Act surprised." I grinned.

"If you're not supposed to tell me, why did you?" He shrugged, taking my hand.

"Just thought it'd cheer you up a bit."


End file.
